It seems this year more than most, we should stop and consider the sacrifices that our Founding Fathers made those 244 years ago with the signing of the Declaration of Independence that we celebrate tomorrow. We may have had some problems and committed some sins over those two and a half centuries, but the United States of America still represents man’s last best hope and is unquestionably the greatest nation to ever grace God’s green earth! The men who pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to each other and to the idea of America in 1776 came from all walks and stratum of colonial life. They were of all ages, backgrounds, education and experience but they had a common vision, a common goal that would not be denied them – a nation of laws, governed not by a hierarchy or a monarchical caste system, but by “We, the people” as articulated in our Constitution over a decade later! A nation where “We, the people” decide what the government can and will do – not the other way around. At this time, as we watch the discontented burn neighborhoods in our cities, destroy monuments to those brave but flawed individuals, and lament the strength, character and history – good and bad – of our nation, let us recommit to continuing the work of our Founding Fathers to build that “more perfect union” of which they wrote. But let us at the same time remember and honor their wisdom, their courage, their pledge and their perseverance to secure the freedoms and liberties we continue to enjoy today. God bless America and Happy Fourth of July!