Over the years I have noticed that the overt patriotism shown by most Americans is somewhat unusual among the nations of the world. For a long time, I have wondered why this is. As today is the anniversary of the birth of the United States, I would like to advance this thought. Among the nations of the world, the USA is unique in that it was brought into being by the people, rather than by some sort of military conquest.
We are proud patriotic citizens of a nation which was brought into being by the desires and efforts of its citizens, and we have maintained our independence, and become the greatest nation in the world, because the people have determined that it would be so.
We are a great nation, but we are not great because we are the world’s mightiest military power. We are not great because of our wealth, and we are not great because of our size. The United States is a great nation because of our people. Those people have had the good fortune to build great wealth, wealth which is then used to help others around the world. The American people have not chosen to use its might to build an empire, which makes us unique in world history, instead we have tried to help other nations to become great.
The United States has remained free for the past 235 years because the people have determined that it would be so, and have been willing to fight for that liberty.
We do face serious problems, and some of those problems, if not resolved, could destroy us. This is something about which we should be very concerned. However, over our history, we have managed to forge a free united nation, and I have this illogical sense of optimism that we will find a way to resolve our problems, and we will remain the great bastion of liberty we have been since 1776.