Happy Birthday, America!

My mother came from Austria, escaping Soviet rule. My grandmother arrived two years earlier, after surviving Hitler’s death camps and Soviet occupation. I grew up with the stories of those times.
I’ve visited my relatives in Austria, Hungary, Germany and Finland. They all bear the scars of Eastern European occupation and the daily reminders of those days.

I’ve always been proud to call myself an American. The knowledge of what my forebears endured to finally taste the freedom we take for granted never fails to humble me. So today, as I celebrate the founding of our unique nation; a nation, which despite our travails and faults, remains a shining beacon for everyone who yearns to breathe free, I recognize how truly blessed I am to be American.

May God Bless the United States of America.