Daniel Webster

I am an American, and, very proud to be so.

One of my favorite holidays is the fourth of July--Independence Day. It commemorates the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia.

The fourth is celebrated with parades, marching bands, patriotic speeches and fireworks. Flags fly and the world around us turns red, white and blue. There are picnics and family campouts--plenty of hot dogs, potato salad and icy cold watermelons.

This is a day to particularly appreciate the freedoms we enjoy. The U.S. is not like any other country in the world. Built by immigrants from all over, our freedoms are based on the idea that each person has the right to worship where and who they please; can speak freely and openly about the government or any injustice; can seek an education and has the right to the pursuit of happiness.

My family like so many others came to America looking for a better life and they found it. My father's family arrived in Virginia from England in one of the earliest voyages in the 1600s. They spread from Virginia to North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana.

My mother's family came much later as immigrants from Ireland. My grandmother was a second generation American whose family came to the northeast coast in the late 1800s.

Both of my parents were very proud Americans. My father displayed the flag at every opportunity. As children we spent almost every Fourth of July camping at the Warren Dunes in Michigan with a large group of friends.

Around the campfire in the evenings, my parents and their friends would tell the stories of how their families came to the United States. It didn't matter if they were Polish, Irish or English; catholic, protestant or Jewish --every one of them had a story that was told with pride.

I appreciate the memory of those campfire stories. They instilled in me a sense of pride about who I am and where my family came from. But, it also helped me learn tolerance and to appreciate the diversity of people.

I think the song," I'm Proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood best expresses what it means to me to be an American.

If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life,

And I had to start again with just my children and my wife,

I'd thank my lucky stars to be living here today,

'Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away.

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free,

And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me,

And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, '

Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee,

Across the plains of Texas from sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to L.A.

There's pride in every American heart and it's time we stand and say:

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free,

And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me,

And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, '

Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A.