No.Nonsense.

I get that we have things in the United States we can do better. I get that people might be pissed at our leadership- on both sides of the aisle. I’m not arguing that some are struggling. With that said, I believe our country is the greatest on earth. In 250 years the things we have accomplished have been amazing. We value freedom and opportunity and fight to protect those values. I’m proud to call myself an American.

And as we celebrate our 250th birthday, I wanted to highlight some sentiments from those who shaped our country from the beginning.

James Madison, author of our Constitution, said, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind of self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

George Washington, our first president, in his inauguration speech prayed this prayer,

Almighty God: We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Finally, Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the declaration we celebrate today, stated, “The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.”

Thomas Jefferson died 50 years to the day after we declared our independence and began the formation of our nation- July 4, 1826. His words are the foundation of our freedom, his sentiments of protecting our liberties above all else our continuing endeavor. Let us never forget where we came from and the ideals that shaped who we are to be as a nation.

Happy 250!