July 4th, 2016

How does one measure the worth of a nation conceived in liberty yet not constant in its affirmation that all people are created equal? A nation that shares none of the bonds of religion, race, ethnicity and history that so obligingly bind the tribes of the old world. A nation whose entire fabric is spun from the singular thread of freedom ­— that most elusive of ideas that's forever under threat, is rarely enjoyed in repose and must always be protected against decay and decrepitude. A nation whose history, brief though it is, is nevertheless rich with tales of selfless valor and yet punctuated by sordid episodes of inhumanity. One measures the worth of such a nation by honoring its virtues; by recognizing that its greatest contributions to humanity have come about when it has healed the wounds of the hireling and slave, the orphan and the widow, the homeless and the tempest-tossed. One measures the worth not by tallying the nation's worst moments — when it wrought the scourge of war by foul footsteps undertaken in fear and haste — but by gazing upon the land illumined by liberty's smile, with humility and resolution intertwined, knowing that its best days are yet to come.