The Greatness of America: A Speech
By: Beth Chapman
America is the greatest country on the face of the earth.
There is no other country where people would risk their lives,
And give up everything they own,
Just to step foot on our sacred soil . . .
To get a chance to start a new,
And to know the true meaning of freedom.
There is no other country,
Where sixteen people would get on a raft made for ten,
And risk their very lives and the lives of their children,
Just so they could know the freedom we know,
Every single day of our lives.
America is a strong and proud nation.
We are proud of our heritage, our Constitution,
The Declaration of Independence,
Our second amendment rights,
Our Civil Rights,
Our God-given rights -
The entire multitude of our rights,
And the principles and ideals created, crafted,
And framed by our forefathers.
We love our monuments and our history,
And remember all of the battles in which we were victorious,
But we also remember Pearl Harbor and September 11th,
Because we take the good with the bad in our country,
Because it is what drives us to overcome,
To learn from the past and to prevail,
In order to become a better nation and a stronger people.
Indeed history does repeat itself,
And America has a great history -
A brilliant past,
And an even brighter future.
Americans love and support our military,
And their valiant efforts,
To protect and preserve our freedom,
Even if it means risking their own lives to do so.
That is the raw courage and American spirit,
Of our brave men and women in uniform,
Who fight to protect and preserve what we have . . .
Because they believe it is worth fighting for and protecting -
And it is.
We love our sports, hotdogs, cornbread and apple pie,
Museums, education, fast cars, literature, rock-n-roll and religion,
And while we come in all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and colors,
We have a plethora of principles and ideals to maintain.
For what we love the most,
Is the freedom to express ourselves,
And to worship, serve and think as we like,
(Even if it is sometimes wrong) -
Just because we have the right to think it.
We respect and reserve the right to be independent thinkers,
Without the government dictating our values to us.
We have a right to pursue happiness - not to be given happiness,
But the sheer joy of pursuing it and the freedom to do so.
Americans are hard-working people,
Who love God and country,
And are darn proud that the two often collide,
And honestly believe that they should.
We acknowledge that you cannot have one without the other.
As a matter of fact,
God and country are so engrained in who and what we are,
As a nation and as a people,
That we would dare fail to think of them in the same breath.
This is due in part to the fact,
That we believe one is dependent on the other,
Because it was founded on those principles,
And under that sacred and Holy name.
America is great because it was bought with a price,
And has sustained years of conflict and strife.
It has been criticized and attacked,
Taunted and terrorized,
But it has withstood the test of time,
And has passed those tests with flying colors -
The red, the white and the blue.
America is a great nation,
Because it is made up of great people,
Who work hard and mean well.
It is comprised of the very spirit, upon which it was founded,
Some three hundred years ago.
The spirit of Betsy Ross, Francis Scott Key, George Washington Carver, John Wesley, Benjamin Franklin, Florence Nightingale, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Jefferson Davis,
Can still be found in our schools and in our homes.
For our founding fathers all paid a price,
For their passion,
Which has outlived them all,
And continues to live in our hearts, souls and minds.
The tapestry that has our woven our goals and objectives,
Principles and purpose throughout generations,
Still flows in our veins and breathes life,
Into the very essence of what our love of country means.
Patriotism is our very countenance,
The aura that surrounds us as we work forty-hour weeks,
Run a business, balance a budget, work in a steel mill,
Attend church, heal a patient,
Plow a field, clean a home, care for and educate our children.
We are great because of what we were,
What we are and how we got here.
We will be even greater still,
When we get where we are going,
And arrive leaps and bounds above the others,
Because we wanted the dream more than they did,
And were willing to work harder,
Sacrifice more and shed blood, sweat and tears to get it.
America is a vision that has been seen,
A sound that has been heard,
A greatness that is yet to be known,
And a future that awaits our lineage,
To live out when we are gone.
America is not a dream;
It is a reality,
And one that dims in comparison to no one,
No thing and no place on this earth.
America is still that "city on a shining hill,"
Whose lights burn as bright or brighter,
Than ever before,
Because there is so much left to see and to do.
Our best days are ahead of us, not behind us.
While proud of our past and working on our present,
It is our future that shines brightest,
Because America remains a beacon for all the world to see.
America has a spirit which cannot be broken,
Packaged or sold,
Because it was bought with the blood of so many.
It cannot be penned or drawn,
Because words and art are inaccurate to describe or define it.
The spirit of America is a feeling,
A dream realized and a greatness known only too few,
But is available to all who dare to want it,
And are committed enough to work hard to get it.
America is a stronghold,
A bastion of greatness and a nation of goodness.
God bless America,
And the flag that waves as a testimony to its greatness,
And symbolizes its solitude,
And the sanctity of all who love it,
As it stands guard over us.
In closing,
Let us remember these truths,
Of which we are to be proud, confident and remain faithful:
We have a government,
We can be a part of our government if you choose to be.
We were created as a republic and remain a republic.
We are governed by a democracy.
Patriotism is alive and well.
The American Dream is alive and well.
We are one nation founded on Godly principles,
And though we have growing pains,
It only means that we are growing.
And last but not least:
We may have our problems, our obstacles, our weaknesses,
Our challenges and our burdens,
But let us never forget that on our very worst day,
America is still better than any other country on their very best day.
God bless America and the flag that symbolizes its greatness!
Happy Fourth of July from Secretary of State Beth Chapman
