I Love America

I love America! I love the beauties of the land, the people, the freedoms and opportunities, the compassion for others, the rule of law, and many other reasons.
I love the "spacious skies," the "amber waves of grain," the "purple mountain majesties" and the "fruited plain" ("America the Beautiful").
I have had the opportunity to drive through many different areas of our country. I've seen landscape and people up close. I have traveled across the United States from the west coast to the eastern seaboard and from the northern border to the southern coast. Every region I've visited has a unique beauty to offer.
I love the mountains and the forests which cover the Northwest. I love the cacti and Joshua trees on the deserts of the Southwest. I love to drive through the flat lands of Kansas and the rolling hills of Missouri. I particularly love to watch the ocean waves crash upon the shores of Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, Texas and Virginia.
I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Washington, D.C. and seeing the great works of previous generations. I walked from memorial to memorial and from the Capital Building to the White House. There are many areas in the country that I still want to visit, but the areas I have visited are very beautiful.
I love the opportunities for choice and growth that America gives to us. As Americans we can choose where we want to live, what career we want to follow, and how we want to spend our free time. I particularly love the privilege to travel wherever I choose to go without the need to obtain permission to do so.
I love the standard of living that is available to our people. I love the fact that America provides a way for any of us to do and become anything we want to do or be. America is a place to prove this saying true: "Where there is a will, there is a way!"
I love the fact that the people of the United States have the right to choose those we want to lead our communities, states, and nation. I love the fact that after the votes are counted and a winner determined, there is a peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next.
I love the fact that America is victorious in wars and yet does not claim the defeated territory as a conquest of war. I love the fact that the American people give millions and billions of dollars to help the poor and needy people of the earth and never ask for anything in return. I love the fact that we can conquer evil regimes and then reach out and help the vanquished people to rebuild.
I love to see the Stars and Stripes flying in the breeze. I thrill to see businesses and families flying the colors of our nation. I often feel as Francis Scott Key must have felt when he penned, "Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines on the stream; `Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh, long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave" ("The Star-Spangled Banner).
I love the fact that the power of this great nation lies in the people. I love America because I believe that its people are basically good. I believe that the majority of the people love God and country, are concerned about their neighbors, and generally want to do right. I love America!