Hello, and happy birthday America! I hope you had a safe, wonderful celebration weekend .
First, a quote… “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” – Ronald Reagan
Just a few weeks ago, I stood in places I had only read about. I walked the beaches of Normandy. I stood in the forests of Bastogne. I visited the cemeteries where thousands of young Americans now rest beneath rows of white crosses and Stars of David.
It is difficult to imagine how a person could leave those places unchanged.
For me, the overwhelming emotion wasn’t pride.
It was gratitude!
Gratitude for the young men and women who sacrificed everything so that generations they would never know, including mine, could live in freedom.
While the grave sites I visited relate specifically to the battles of WWII, I am grateful for the efforts of all Veterans and service members who deserve similar recognition for the contributions they made to our country in a wide range of wars, events and circumstances.
This past weekend America celebrated 250 years! Quite an accomplishment!
This anniversary isn’t simply about fireworks, parades, hotdogs and parties, or history books. It’s an opportunity to pause and appreciate what we too easily take for granted. I know I am certainly guilty of this myself.
The freedom to worship, speak, disagree, pursue our dreams, raise our families, and build meaningful lives didn’t simply happen. It was earned, protected, and passed on to us by those who believed in something bigger than themselves, and believed it was worth defending.
That realization has stayed with me since returning home from my WWII experience in Europe.
It has also caused me to ask a different question. How do we honor a gift like that?
Perhaps not only by celebrating our freedom… but also by living in a way that deserves it.
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Every conversation we have…
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Every post we publish…
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Every disagreement we enter…
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Every act of kindness we choose…
Each one either strengthens the fabric that binds us… or quietly pulls at its threads that divide us.
Healthy debate has always been part of America’s story. Respect must be part of it, too.
As I reflected upon my personal Band of Brothers WWII experience, I couldn’t help but notice that the soldiers who accomplished extraordinary things didn’t all think alike. But when it mattered most, they remembered something larger than themselves. They shared a common purpose.
“History is who we are and why we are the way we are.” – Stephen Ambrose
Maybe that’s still one of America’s greatest lessons.
Our nation is at its strongest when ordinary citizens strive to be their very best… for one another, for our great country and, for our children’s children’s children and beyond.
As the celebration of America’s 250th birthday comes to an end, my hope is simple:
May we never lose our gratitude for the freedoms we’ve inherited. And may we each do our small part to ensure they remain just as strong for the generations that follow.
As America begins its next 250 years, what small contribution can each of us make to leave our family, our workplace, our community, and our country just a little better than we found them?
Have a great week, my friends!
Sincerely,
Bryan Yager
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Bonus Quotes:
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“Liberty is the great parent of science and of virtue; and a nation will be great in both always in proportion as it is free.” – Thomas Jefferson
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“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy
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“America is another name for opportunity.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
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“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” – sometimes attributed to Thomas Jefferson, most historians attribute it with John Philpot Curran.
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“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke
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“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
