Independence Day: Why I Am Proud to Be an American

Across this great nation of ours, people are getting ready to celebrate. They're firing up grills and smokers for barbeques, decorating their houses and backyards in red, white, and blue, and even purchasing fireworks to light up the night sky in a dazzling array of patriotism. Friends and family will gather for the holiday, a bustle of activity in anticipation of the 4th of July. I hope somewhere in that revelry is a pause, and in that pause, a moment of profound gratitude.

When we talk about the United States of America, it's often in broad strokes, in heated political arguments, in divisions of red and blue states. But not on the 4th of July: it's a day we cease labeling ourselves Republicans and Democrats and simply (and proudly) call ourselves Americans.

I have so much love for my country, my home. I'd say I'm thankful for the men and women of our Armed Forces, but how does a simple thank you suffice? How do you even begin to express gratitude for what they've done? We're in debt to these brave people: literally everything we have today is a direct result of their sacrifices.

My grandfather--we all call him PawPaw--is retired from the United States Marines. He volunteered for three separate tours of duty in Vietnam. I asked him once about his service there, and he told me how hard it was. He never fully disclosed the atrocities of war, but he did tell me this: "I would do it again and again if it meant I could keep you safe from the things I saw there."

I was speechless, and in a way I still am. I still don't know if I can ever fully and adequately express the profound and eternal gratitude I feel for the sacrifices my Paw Paw and so many other brave people made and continue to do so today.

Let me try anyway. Let me say thank you to the ones who have served, to the ones who paid for my freedom with their lives, to the ones currently serving our nation overseas, to the families who support mom and dad during another deployment, to every single person who has played a part in making my country, my state, my home what it is today.

Thank you. You make me proud to call myself an American.