Happy 4th of July

This year our nation celebrated its two hundred fiftieth year of independence. It was a scorcher of a day for festivities. Temperatures here were in the nineties and the heat index was over one hundred. The weather itself seemed to be an analogy for the political climate in our country.

Things are heating up. I could be dead wrong, but I believe our country was founded on representatives coming together, reaching compromises to move the government forward. Any system of governing has flaws, and ours seems to have broken down.

There is no compromise between the sides. Each side seems to be set only on stopping the other side from achieving any goals. This government of no has ground our nation to a standstill. Every swing in elections results in one side trying to undo anything the other side accomplished.

My wish for our country's birthday is that our leaders learn how to be leaders again. Maybe they will. Maybe we can learn to once again be civil to everyone, no matter if they share every one of our nuanced beliefs.

Spending all your time tearing down anyone different from you is not the way to run a country. I wish we could find peace with all those around us; alike or different.

Maybe over the next two hundred fifty years our nation can regain its place in the world. A place that is looked up to as a bastion of freedom and a leader in global issues. Perhaps we can once again be a place that drives people from all over the world to strive for better so that they may one day be citizens here.

Happy birthday America! May the next quarter-millennium be even better than the last!