July 4th, 2020

As I reflect on my memories of the 4th of July of fireworks, barbecues and good food, music, “summer is here celebration”, and showing our patriotic pride (we always wore red, white, and blue), I pause and am thinking different thoughts today, especially with the state our country is in.I pulled up the lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner”: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 watched 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?Our forefathers fought hard for our freedom, to have the Thirteen Colonies become independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule, which was the first step toward forming the United States of America. What a battle they went through to be free; the hardships, the uncertainty, and the lives lost to do whatever it took to live in a land of the free and the home of the brave! I can’t imagine what was going through their minds when they looked up to see Old Glory still waving in dawn’s early light. To realize that they did it… they won the war! Their fight, their stand wasn’t just for them… it was for their children and their children’s children, and their children’s children’s children… for you and me!The words of the Declaration of Independence ring loud in me today.We hold these truths that be self-evident, that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights… among these are:

• Life
• Liberty
• and the Pursuit of Happiness

These aren’t just pretty words on a document from history. These words were to represent a moral standard for which the United States should strive for. Our values, our guiding principles.I believe this. I believe IN this. That we all are created equal. That we all deserve the rights to live our best life, liberty (to live where we want, work where we want, go to school where we want, vote the way we want, worship the way we want), and the pursuit of happiness….to do what sets our souls on fire and to be free! Free from judgment, free from segregation, and freedom to have equal opportunities. In the midst of today’s pain and uncertainty, and no matter what side of the political party you come from, there is one thing that I know… We have so much freedom that we get to celebrate today:

• We get to choose where we want to work
• We can own a business if we want to
• We can get an education
• We get to live where we want
• We choose how we raise our kids
• We choose our partners
• We choose our faith and how we worship
• We get to have a voice

We all make mistakes. We get frustrated. We get hurt and angry. Yet if we can come together… united in our vision, striving for the moral standards, values, and character of good, decent human beings, while respecting each other’s differences and striving for the equality of humankind and to embrace… life… liberty… and the pursuit of happiness – we would shift our families, communities, and nation.We don’t give up because it’s hard. We give up because we get discouraged. Today, get back up if you’re discouraged. Focus on what really matters and celebrate that you have the right to ….LifeLibertyand the Pursuit of HappinessMary Belden-McGrath