Happy Independence Day!

This is the document that started it all. Thirteen colonies wanted to have a say in the country it was supporting. They refused to be ignored. After the loss of many lives and the sacrifices of many people, this great nation began.
                             Our first president, George Washington, worked long hours with a tireless group to put together a country that represented its people.
This is the document that resulted.

A difference of opinion divided this nation and brought it to a place of civil war, a war that devastated and nearly destroyed it.
                                 This president, Abraham Lincoln, addressed an ailing nation that lost more sons than it could afford, a nearly countless number. This speech, the Gettysburg Address, was delivered at the memorial of those men who lost their lives fighting for their ideals.
           This is believed to be one of the many copies of those word delivered on that day. Having survived that terrible loss, this nation worked to heal many of its wounds and overcome its weaknesses.

More than a century late, this nation elected its first president of African decent, President Barack Obama.

Regardless of the politics involved this country can celebrate its great accomplishment. This nation began as a group of upstarts and radicals and developed into a nation that serves its people. It struggled over differing ideologies that divided and nearly destroyed all that it had accomplished.

What is laudable is that we not only overcame this division, but the very people that were a significant part of the reason for that war are now represented in the White House.

The United States of America is a great nation. Is it perfect? Not at all, but its greatness stands in spite of its imperfections. I am proud to be called one of its citizens.

Please join me in wishing this great nation a very happy birthday as we, once again, celebrate our Independence Day.