I AM AN AMERICAN PATRIOT

I am an American Patriot. I believe God has blessed us with a land rich in resources- soaring mountains, endless vistas of rich soil for abundant harvests, white sand coastlines, tropical forest and glacial peaks.

I am an American Patriot. I believe that the founders of this great nation were inspired to dream, a dream of freedom- governed not by the rich, by royalty, but by the people- without kings or tyrants or dictators, knowing that this freedom would come at a great price- the lives of patriot soldiers and militiamen, whose rag-covered feet froze in the snow and who primitive weapons were no match against the most powerful nation in the world and who gave up their farms and their families and their lives so that we might say “We, the people of the United States of America…”

I am an American Patriot. I believe that God has blessed us so that we might be a blessing. And we may not be the policemen of the world. But we have heard the cries for help from nations trampled by foreign armies, and races of people herded into concentration camps and crematoriums, and children who ought to be in school forced into violent raiding parties that kill their own people- their own families- and we have not ignored their cries, and Americans have invested their lives and their resources to answer those cries.

I am an American Patriot. I salute the men and women who everyday place their lives in harm’s way on foreign soil- to bring hope for a better life even to people who hate us and what we stand for. I salute my brothers and sisters who daily cook the meals and repair the jeeps and buy the supplies, and wash the uniforms and clean the latrines, and type the letters and raise the flag so that our military can always be alert, always ready, always prepared, so that there will never be another Pearl Harbor or 9/11.

I am an American Patriot. I stand when the American flag passes by. I proudly place my hand on my heart and pledge my allegiance. I thrill to know that finally Honor Flights take veterans in wheel chairs and with walkers to see our great capital and the memorials that a grateful nation has built to honor them and their service.

I am an American Patriot. I am proud to be a citizen of a nation that will not forget those who gave their lives and their service, a nation that sets aside a national holiday- a holy day- to say “Thank you. We will not forget.”

God bless our Veterans, and God bless the United States of America