Nothing brings Americans together like the Fourth of July. We gather friends and family together, eat and drink together, we attend festivals together and we share a fellowship that goes beyond age, socioeconomic status, religion, color, creed, pronoun or other factor used to divide us.
We wear red, white and blue and we sing patriotic songs. We marvel at fireworks that are the same every single year, yet somehow new and exciting, because of the reason we share that time together.
Much like the Christmas spirit being alive and well in December, why can we not keep this patriotism and unity throughout the calendar?
Why is it that on July 5, we suddenly have so many enemies among us? Why do we turn our great strengths born out of freedom and courage against one another?
The colors red, white and blue never run, as the adage goes. But that should be the case every day, not just on the Fourth of July when Lee Greenwood is playing in the background.
But Greenwood’s famous song does make a lot of points that we should listen to on the other 364 days.
“If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I worked for all my life,
And I had to start again,
With just my children and my wife.
I thank my lucky stars,
To be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
And they can’t take that away.
And I’m proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you,
And defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt,
I love this land,
God Bless the U.S.A.”
We have blessings as Americans, and we are still the strongest nation on this planet. Together we can accomplish so much, but divided, very little. By the time July 4 comes around again, we will be in the middle of what is likely to be an ugly election season that will pit us against one another at every turn.
Let us pray that we can find a way to unite as Americans, build our strength on what makes us the same and learn to work through our petty differences.
Together, nothing can stop us from being the greatest nation in the world.
God bless America, every day of the year.