What does America mean to you?

This July 4th, our country will celebrate its 236th birthday. Still a relatively young country historically speaking, America has arguably had the most profound effect on human existence.

Independence Day brings out the picnics, fireworks and red,white and blue, but just like any holiday where such symbolism rules, there is much more to it.

So, what America mean to YOU??

Comment

You need to be a member of yourmilitarystory.com to add comments!

Join yourmilitarystory.com

Comment by Claudia Bartow on July 4, 2012 at 6:46pm: Thomas,
This is a great reply-thank you! Your words are thoughtful,and I think right on. Happy 4th!

Comment by Thomas R. Murrell on July 4, 2012 at 9:32am: I've been thinking about this since I saw your post. I was surprised at how difficult it is to put into words. For one thing, I was born here, and though I have lived abroad a little in my life, I am not well-traveled. I have little to compare the US to. Still, I thought I ought to be able to say SOMETHING about what I like about my country. So I looked at the Pledge of Allegiance.

Everyone knows the Pledge: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Every American knows it, and like most things everyone knows, everyone has their own idea of what it means. I'm not going to pick it apart or describe how words and phrases were added, modified, fought over. In a sense, the Pledge is as much American as anything else in our history.

But as I was out walking this morning, that final phrase: "...with liberty and justice for all" came to mind. People come here, risking everything they have--sometimes including their lives--for the promise of liberty and justice for all. Sometimes all I think people really want are the freedom to live their lives as best they are able and to get fair, impartial justice when they need it. As I look around the world, I find there are precious few other countries that come up to this high standard of liberty and justice for all. People come here, people fight to stay here, people die to protect those values.

As a nation, we have sometimes fallen short of our ideals, yet we continue to strive to achieve them. None more so than these. But strive we do to provide liberty and justice for all. And those values, along with out nation history of striving to achieve them, are what I cherish most about America on this July 4.