America not perfect, but it's the land I love
- Kyle Snyder: Live on Purpose
- July 3, 2024
- 483
“God bless the USA.”
—Lee Greenwood
Is America perfect? Well to be quite honest, not by a long shot. However, it is still the place I choose to love my wife and have my family.
We can talk about all the shortcomings America has, but everywhere we can go has just as many, if not more, shortcomings. So the grass is not greener on the other side. It is way too easy to see what we don’t have, rather than what we do have. Some countries have free healthcare, but they have a lot fewer people and much higher taxes. I’m not saying I am for or against anything. All I am saying is we need to look at the whole picture.
America declared her independence on July 4, 1776. John Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. He has the largest signature on the document. He wanted King George to read it without his glasses. Stephen Hopkins had cerebral palsy and had to sign with his left hand holding his right hand, stating, “My hand trembles, but my heart does not.” All these men were signing their death warrant if they didn’t succeed.
One may think the Amish have nothing to do with the birth of our nation, and that would be inaccurate. They didn’t take up arms against the British, but some of them helped out in noncombatant roles. Peter Levengood was an Amish pastor who was in the Revolutionary War. So the question is what did he do? From what I read, there are two possibilities: He did supplies, making sure the troops had all their needs met, or, what I like to think, he was a chaplain. Peter is my six times great-grandfather.
Susanne Miller was Amish up until the time she married John Mickley. My family goes back to two of her brothers. John Mickley was in the Pennsylvania military when the British invaded Philadelphia.
One of the first things the British did when they attacked a city was to melt down all the bells. Bells were how the cities sounded the alarm. John was ordered to take the state house bell and hide it in a church in the next town over. After the war the bell became known as the Liberty Bell.
As we enjoy our Fourth of July, pause a moment and give thanks to the men and women who helped make this day possible.