Born in the USA

What’s it like to be born in the USA? Well for each individual American citizen, life is different. Different parents, homes, schools, friends, neighborhoods, stores, restaurants, back yards, front porches, churches and life experiences that help form the person we become.  But there is one common thread that runs through our veins and that is the thread of our flag and our love for our country.

Old Glory tells a lot about what it’s like to be American. The white stripes signifying purity and innocence, the red stripes signifying hardiness and valor, and the blue signifying vigilance, perseverance and justice. The thirteen stripes represent our original thirteen colonies and the fifty stars, the symbol of the divine goal which man is to aspire, represents our fifty states. Our flag is one of the most recognized symbols in the world. She is respected, feared, hated and loved.

The Grand Canyon

The stars and stripes have been worn on t shirts, as pants, carried across many foreign lands in order to help others in need, taken to the moon, hung from house to house, waved by little children running up and down streets, displayed at every grave site in American and on foreign soil if that person fought for his or her country, and yes proudly flown over buildings throughout the world telling others that we are here, we will be heard and we won’t back down to injustice.

Mackinac Island

People always seem to wonder why America seems to stick their nose into other people’s business. Why are we here and there fighting for things that are not in our own neighborhoods? Well, the best way for me to explain it is that we don’t put up with bullies. Everyone has bullies. That kid in the school yard or neighborhood that always seems to have a gang of kids who support that kid and the mean things they do. But that’s not even true. A bully is weak, scared and a coward. But he has the ability to scare the others around him by intimidation to stand beside him while he picks on others who are not as strong. He wrongly convinces others that it’s ok to hurt others. It’s NOT ok! It’s not ok to hurt innocent women and children, sick and elderly or the poor and oppressed.

Moving to The Netherlands exactly one year ago today has given me deeper appreciation and pride for what my country stands for. So many people from this beautiful country continually come up to me to say thank you for helping them in a war that happened so many years ago. I wasn’t even alive yet when it occurred but I’m so very proud of our forefathers for standing up to a bully and saying NO! We have bullies in our own country. We don’t tolerate it in our neighborhoods and we won’t in yours either. We got your back!

Pure joy.. Tractor ride in Nebraska

Around the world we all have different beliefs and thoughts and that is the beauty of mankind. God or whoever you believe in put us here to do well in the world. To work together, play together, sing, laugh, cry, and build families and friendships together. We were not meant to be torn apart. So the next time you see the American flag… try to remember we’re all just trying to play nice.

Best Friends

To my friends and family back home… Happy 4^th of July. Someone throw a burger on the grill for me please. And may God Bless The United States of America.