By Senator Joyce Krawiec

I’m proud to be an American. When I see that glorious flag wave or hear the Star-Spangled Banner or America the Beautiful, I reach for the Kleenex or secure the nearest water pail. Words like independence, liberty, and freedom make my blood stir. Reading the Federalist Papers, The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and speeches made by our Founding Fathers makes the hair on my arms stand up and salute.

I’m proud to be an American and celebrate those courageous citizens who came before me. I celebrate those who traveled across the country in covered wagons, beating all the odds to settle our prairies, to clear the land, to fulfill their dreams. I marvel at those who established our cities, built factories, and instituted law and order so we might live as we do today. I am humbled by those courageous Americans who paid the ultimate price for my freedom. We all know that freedom has never been free, and ours was bought by the blood of others. I am thankful for those who came to our shores full of hope and ambition. Against all the odds, they made a better life for themselves and their families in the name of freedom.

I’m proud to be an American and to know that our country is the envy of the world and that God has blessed us beyond measure. When I look at the Statue of Liberty and read, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” I am reminded of those who peered upon her symbolism, as they arrived on our shore, and wept with joy at the hopefulness and the pride they felt.

I’m proud to be an American, plain and simple, and I need no hyphenated description. As Americans, we come in all colors, we have no official religion, and we have no rulers. Our freedom is our most precious commodity and our birthright, and we still have brave Americans standing on our shores ready to defend those freedoms. These are true American heroes. We cannot all be heroes. Some of us have to sit alongside on the curb and clap and wave as they go by; otherwise, they may never know how much we appreciate them. I honor each of these heroes.

I’m proud to be an American and to celebrate America’s uniqueness as well as her greatness. I believe there are few handicaps that faith and freedom cannot overcome. I believe that America is a land of unparalleled opportunity.

I’m proud to be an American even though we are not perfect, and our society needs lots of improvements. There is no utopia on earth. We have to wait for Heaven to experience that joy, but America is pretty darn close. Compared to all other societies on earth, even with all her warts, America is still the greatest country in the world. To borrow a line from a famous song, “There ain’t no doubt I love this land. God Bless the USA.”