I Pledge Allegiance

What a wonderful thing, freedom. Make a point today to celebrate the freedoms we have as Americans. Each one of us has the freedom to believe what we choose, to follow the path in life that pleases us. No politician, no cleric, no cult-of-personality owns our minds. Even as we seem to be losing many of those freedoms, we live in a land where we are all truly free to think, live and worship as we choose.

Some in Washington, Hollywood and other locals might suggest that we as a nation are broken, needing "change" in order to survive. I believe they might be right, but not in the way they think. We do seem to have lost our way a bit. Ours is the nation that saved the world from evil during two great World Wars during the 1900s. We stood strong against the Communist movement during the last half of the last century, leading to the dismantling of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. We have always stood on the side of freedom and liberty. Millions of Americans have given their lives to bring that freedom to peoples around the globe.

Today, Independence Day, I hope you'll all give some thought to what it means to truly be free. I hope you will appreciate the liberty we have in this country. Liberty that does not come from the government, but is granted to us simply because we exist. Liberty and freedoms we have in spite of government, not because of it.

Finally, I hope you will join me in renewing our allegiance to this great land. Take time to pledge your allegiance to our flag and to our nation. And while you are at it, please take four minutes to watch the following video. The great funnyman Red Skelton explains what the Pledge means, word by word. Enjoy, and pass it along.