Column: An American Love Letter

Dear America, It's been so long since I've written to you.

Years, in fact.

If you feel I have neglected you, I am sorry. Maybe I have.

Life has been a whirlwind for me, to say the least, these past few years.

There have been profound changes to my health and career, a pandemic, a sudden layoff, and a lot of burning city streets across your fruited plain.

Some people have blamed you for the chaos of the past year. I hope you don't feel that way about yourself; although I do understand if you carry that burden with you.

Like a true Empath, you've been shouldering the burdens of multitudes for generations, offering us all some measure of hope in a dark world.

And like all true Empaths, you suffer inside for the comfort you give others. Few seem to appreciate that about you.

You give energy that others take, but no one gives back to you. You have to regenerate that energy yourself and which is ultimately given away again.

Millions have come to your shores for freedom and the chance to build a better life. Thousands still come each year. Millions more yearn to.

Because you are as much an intrinsic principle as that "Great Experiment," you fulfill the hope that so many have had in you.

But there are voices today who say you have failed. You failed at your birth, and because of that, you fail now. You are an inherent mistake; a wrong incapable of being righted.

If they only really knew you as the record of history has, and understood how young you still are.

At 245 years, you are a "babe in the woods" compared with many other sovereign nations around the world; none of whom have gone through the sort of tumultuous changes you have in such a short period of time.

You were born of a revolution and you have had to grow relatively quickly through decades of upheaval in order to keep your Union intact.

But from each crucible, you've emerged stronger and more refined.

Your People have changed over time, and their faithfulness to you as the "Great Experiment" have brought others into your expanding circle of inclusive, never-changing principles.

Yet, your haters still insist that you cannot change and you will not change. History shows they are wrong.

I've watched you change with my own eyes and through the lens of others.

Trust me, America, I know what it's like to try to live up to rigid standards and expectations. I know what it's like to fail and to get back up again. And again, and again.

Many Americans, in fact, are a lot like you. We have met with failure, but we have not stopped trying.

In that respect, America, you are in good company among your People. You have many kindred spirits. None of us are puritans, but that doesn't stop us from trying to do better with our lives.

The trouble is, there are just some people we will never, ever please. There will always be something wrong with us.

I have a grown daughter a lot like you, America. Her very early life was full of tumult and chaos. She had to grow up fast in a world that demanded too much of a child.

Our world has demanded so much of you in your youth. People forget that a new nation, like a new person, takes time to develop. We've got to give the benefit of the doubt for growth.

And grow you have, though you are still pretty young and have more growth ahead of you.

Your people have made mistakes and have done some wrong things. Haven't we all? Join the club. I'm a charter member of that one.

After my daughter came into my home, she wronged a lot of people. Raising her caused me to question my sanity on numerous occasions. But never once did I entertain the thought of disowning her.

She was a stubborn and hard-headed girl, and I often doubted that she would ever change.

But that's where I made my mistake. Change happens on the inside and usually occurs in small steps that those on the outside cannot see right away.

These changes, in fact, may seem insignificant to the peanut gallery looking on.

But such changes are huge leaps for the person making them. The changes you've made through the years may seem insignificant to some, but I recognize that they've been necessary to improve your character.

Over time, those seemingly small changes have proven to be big for future generations of Americans seeking comfort under your wing.

Do not listen to your haters, America. They want to disown you, because of past and present wrongs committed by some of your People in your name.

But would they disown their children for wrongs? Would they abandon their offspring because change is difficult and takes time, which may not meet a parent's rigid timeline?

Like raising a child, living in America is truly a "Great Experiment." We can either view this experiment as a disaster or catastrophe when something blows up and drop it like a hot potato. Or, we can embrace it more, hold it closer and encourage the experiment to keep trying.

That's what most of us do with our children. Why wouldn't we also do that with you, America?

Today I honor your birthday, because your experiment is worth celebrating. It has changed so many lives around the globe for the better.

Yours is the only experiment in the annals of world history that affirms natural human rights and secures them in a Constitution. These are rights that no earthly power can bestow or take away.

That unique part of your character is worthy of celebration. Because of that, I am inherently and naturally free to write this column, while others are inherently and naturally free to read and comment on it.

Only under your protective wing, America, does this happen. No other sovereign nation of people in the history of the world holds that distinction.

America, you are beautiful just the way you are, with your virtues as well as your flaws; your attributes as well as your scars.

I love how you have changed, in spite of how difficult that process has been for you. I love how you continue giving to others who don't give you anything back. I love how you have hurt and overcome injury.

I just love how imperfectly human you are, America. You aren't a system or an institution. You are that "Great Experiment" come to life; ever-growing, frequently changing and deeply devoted.

You are a collection of the People, who have held up your banner of freedom and carried the torch of liberty in your name.

I hope and pray that all Americans can lay down their defenses this Independence Day and celebrate the freedom they have to do what they do, to say what they say, and be who they want to be.

You've secured and ensured this freedom, America. You've bled for liberty, cried over suffering, and come to the defense of others.

I am grateful, and I am thankful to be under your wing.