America is the land of opportunity, a nation of freedom and prosperity. She is a nation we can always love, and must always protect.
We’ve gotten caught up lately in a discussion of America’s flaws, with a culture content to despise the country that gave it everything it has. America is imperfect, with a flawed past and an uncertain future, however she is, without question, a nation of freedom, dignity, and possibility.
One of the many things worth loving about America is her history. Now our country, like every other, does not have a spotless past, but she does have a truly remarkable source. Many nations sprung from experiments; greedy kings seeking to exalt their treasuries, men and women blinded by a hopeless ambition, bent on utopia.
America was an entirely different type of experiment. Our founders were educated men, well-versed in the disciplines of history and law. Striving toward not wealth or impossible paradise, but freedom. Yes, the foundation of America is freedom. All men created equal. Was this dream a reality in the beginning? It was not, but America shattered every long-held tradition and paved the way for an egalitarian future. America began with an end in mind.
Our nation was built on a love for freedom, and our framers gave us a foundation to realize that goal. These men understood human nature—they’d studied the dusty pages of history and come to conclusions no previous group of intellectuals had fully conceptualized. They rejected both autocracy and anarchy, and forged something new: republicanism.
We love our country because unlike so many nations, our government was built for us, and belongs to us. Checks and balances, federalism, the separation of powers, a complicated series of political machinations ingeniously designed to protect the liberty of the people while preserving their moral integrity by reining in their darkest impulses.We have a system unlike any other.
America is also a nation of morality. Our country was built by men and women of faith, many fleeing to our shores seeking the freedom to worship God as they chose. Our constitutional convention was carried by prayer, the words of the Bible remembered and recited, woven into the very foundation of America. It was these Christian influences, the values of honor, integrity, hard work and determination, courage and freedom, or as the great Teddy Roosevelt deemed them, Americanism, that built our culture from day one.
From these values, the American Dream was born. This was the unique idea that a person could be defined by hard work and honest character rather than unearned advantage of birth. It was in our country, the land of opportunity, that anyone could invent themself. With this in mind, we have truly succeeded, for America has brought more prosperity to more people than any nation in history.
Was this dream always perfect and equal? No, nothing ever is, but it gave us a foundation, a solid rock of hope upon which generations of Americans have fought for freedom and equality of opportunity for everyone; the true American dream.
We should love America, because America gave us everything. We can speak our minds, worship our God, and put pen to paper without fear of retribution. As Americans, we are truly some of the most blessed people on earth. Our system is broken now, bureaucracy has replaced federalism and our rights are slowly being strangled.
But if we as United Americans, continue to stand with our flag, learn from our history, (both successes and failures), and never allow our differences to stop us from standing together, we can reclaim the America our founders imagined.
There is nothing our great country cannot achieve. That is why I am, and always will be, a patriot. Why I will never stop fighting for this country, never give up on her and never stop believing in the land that I love. That’s why I love America.