This Country was established byThose with strong personal convictions.  People who were willing to travel across an unknownSea, to an unknown Land, with unknown Futures.  People who were willing to leave behind a Life as it would be...for a life that...Could be.

People who wanted their freedom so badly, that they were willing to fight for what they Believed.  People whose beliefs were planted as firmly As the crops they would learn to Grow.  Those People came to be our Forefathers; our windows of the past...a beginning, a model by which we have fashioned  the groundwork for this Country.

Mistakes along the way? Yes,we made our share.  What started out to be the Land of  Opportunity, became for some, a Trail of Tears.  And then, the rights of Freedom  for all became an Issue that would threaten to break us apart; but once again we would fight to perserve the deeply planted  belief in the... Union.

 There have been other mistakes and errors in judgements since the Early beginnings...whose  memories linger still.  However, The  greatest tragedy in making a Mistake,  is Not Learning from it.  In order to move forward, we must use those mistakes ...to make the future...Better.

 As we see the mirror and the past  Reflections of this great Nation, I can not help but wonder if  in some ways we have been Dwelling on those mistakes and perhaps lost our perspectives. Have we become so involved  with the Individual Tree , that we Can not see  the Forest? Have our good Intentions...our desire  to preserve the  Freedoms...lead us to our Present day grief? Have we tried so Hard to keep everybody happy, that we find ourselves in a time where No one is content?  I find myself  wondering if  maybe we shoud  re-evaluate the Importance that we have  put on the  Trivial things...and concentrate more strongly on the Ground that holds us...Together.

I wish that I could  create a profound ending to this, one that is original and puts all that I’m feeling into a simple, meaningful conclusion.  But, I can’t.  So I will end this with the one and  only true hope that we had then...and the only one we have now  ...

GOD   BLESS   AMERICA!