“O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight

O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming

And the rocket’s red glare, the bomb bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave”

 

Happy July 4th to you and your family.

Thank God the weather is good and we can all enjoy indoor and outdoor festivities with family and friends, while reflecting on our collective heritage and personal responsibility as citizens of this great country called the United States of America.

As the Star-Spangled Banner waves everywhere, and fireworks rend the air, we are reminded of the great sacrifices of those whose resplendent vision and resilient vigor paved the way for us to savor the freedoms and opportunities we have today from Detroit and Denver to Seattle and Sacramento.

In blood, sweat and tears, our freedom-yearning and brave founding fathers created the world’s best democracy and birthed the world’s greatest economy, leaving us with the awesome benefit of enjoying the fruits and the fervor of playing our individual part in further strengthening and enlarging their legacy.

One way many compatriots have done this is by charitable giving.

In fact, I consider it one of the bravest things anybody could do – sacrificing their precious resources – like time and money – for people they don’t know.

So, I doff my summer hat for those who will visit the sick, assist the elderly, feed the hungry, give hope to suffering children or donate money and materials toward uplifting the living conditions of indigent compatriots this Independence Week.

God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.