Living the American Dream

Here we are, living in America, the shining city upon a hill, watched and admired and adopted by the world.

Here we are, living in America, in freedom and prosperity that people in other countries can not begin to understand.

Here we are, living in America, in a nation that changes to reflect its people, the times, the shifting future.

We are lucky beyond luck, graced beyond grace.

Here we are, living in America, and the simple truth of it is that we rarely pause to consider our great good fortune.

Even now, when times are tough, we are strong. We are courageous.

We continue, in word and in deed, to defend our beliefs.

We don't stop fighting for human rights. We don't stop fighting for a better economy, a smarter eduational system, a brighter future. We don't stop inventing, we don't stop participating, we don't stop dreaming.

America has traveled worlds since 1630 when Puritan John Winthrop called America a "shining city upon a hill." It's bigger now. It's faster. It's more dangerous. 

But it is still our nation, guided by the idea that we are all created equal, that we all have rights, and that government is created to win and protect those rights. 

America is still that shining city on the hill. Perhaps it is tarnished, here and there, yes. Maybe it has its less than shining neighborhoods. Its roads show signs of wear, its bridges could use some work - but America is its people. It is our spirit. It is our idea, and our reality.

From a distance, and truly, up close, too, America is still a shining city of beauty and of grace, to be treasured and respected and held dear, today and every day.