Spirit of America

The Fourth of July is part of the pantheon of holidays you loved as a child, and then grew up to experience through the eyes of your own children. What sets Independence Day apart is the fact that it specifically celebrates our country.My Spirit of America moment occurred as I was busily serving coffee and juice to people at our Krispy Kreme Fourth event. I had bought two discount CDs of patriotic music at Wal-Mart, and one of them was playing on the boom box.

As I heard Lee Greenwood sing God Bless the USA, I had to walk away from the serving table to collect my emotions. The collective memories of 58 Fourths of July, the stars-and-stripes banners moving in the breeze, the joy and relief that people had come to our event...it got to me.

What I wanted our observance of the Fourth to say to our neighbors was something like this: America is a great place. You know that or you wouldn’t have come here to live and work and raise your family. And whether you are a native or not, whether you are a citizen or not, whether you are documented or not, you are entitled to celebrate America.

I’m glad we did. We should all count our blessings to be here, every day of the year. And we should do what the Bible says and minister to the aliens among us.