The America I Love

The America I Love
by
July 01, 2026

Ever since my childhood, I have loved America. I have loved celebrating the 4th of July. I have loved parades, watching them, and also marching in them. I have loved fireworks, flyovers, the flag, and our beautiful Capitol in Washington, D.C., with all its monuments. And the more I have traveled the world, the more I love our country and feel so fortunate to live in it. No one is a more loyal, red-blooded, flag-waving, patriotic American than I am. I still get a lump in my throat and chills running up and down my spine when I hear patriotic music.

But let me tell you more about the America I love.

I love the America that emphasizes the importance of home and family life, where families care for and take care of one another.

I love the America where neighborhoods are close-knit, so much so that neighbors even help raise each other’s kids.

I love America’s geography – “from sea to shining sea”: our oceans, mountains, canyons, rivers, highways, wheat and cotton fields.

I love our freedoms specifically spelled out in the First Amendment: freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. Unlike what happens in many other countries, I love the fact that we can offer constructive criticism of our government and not be put in prison for it.

I love Americans who are humble, not arrogant, generous, not selfish, and compassionate, not indifferent.

I love the fact that real Americans are responsible, hard-working, and want to do their part rather than try to get a free ride off the government or somebody else’s hard work.

I love “e pluribus unum” – the fact that America is made up of immigrants from different countries around the world, but all become part of one United States.

I love the inscription on the Statue of Liberty, which reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

I love the America founded on “In God We Trust,” not money.

I love the America that cares for the rest of the world and not just itself, a beacon of hope, a “city on the hill” that inspires the rest of the world.

I love the ideal of government for the people, not for the politicians.

I love the America where wealthy people who have more than they need joyfully share with those who have less than they need.

Yes, I love America … but I also love the rest of the world. So as we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, let us make sure both America and the world are worth loving.

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