So What Do You Celebrate…

Summer has arrived and that great American Holiday… July 4th is upon us… a time to celebrate!

Despite the rhetoric of this highly political season, there is much to celebrate. To be sure there are troubles in this land of ours, as there is throughout the world. We can be equally sure that we do not and will not all agree on all the problems facing our union let alone the best solutions to those problems. Our sacred freedom of speech allows us to voice our opinions, hopes and dreams… it is for this and our other freedoms that my fellow Marines and I have served.

We as a nation have oft been referred to as A City on a hill … a beacon of hope to the peoples of the world… a land where dreams may be not only dreamt but also fulfilled. I do not cheapen those possibilities when I speak of the American Dream.

So what is this American Dream? As I see it, the American Dream has as its central tenets: (1) personal liberty, bounded only by the protection required to keep those liberties from infringing upon the rights of others; (2) the opportunity through the efforts of one’s own capabilities to be what one can be, to build a future.

For most Americans, a primary fruit of the American Dream is home ownership… a place to call home… a place where we can exercise some degree of control over what colors the walls are and where we raise our children. For those of us who were fortunate enough to have always had a home and a place to exercise our freedom of expression, this may sound trivial. It is not.

Home ownership is a model for citizenship. It is a privilege; yet, it is something earned. It bears with it a responsibility… a responsibility of care and continued effort less it fall into disarray… also the responsibility to be a good neighbor… We rise and fall with our neighbors… no man is an island unto himself.

Collectively, we are all better off the greater this model of citizenship and involvement in homeownership is responsibly experienced and lived out. Just as with citizenship, we are all stronger when all participate. I celebrate citizenship, responsibility and the American Dream.

May the Market be with you… May your dreams be fulfilled… Celebrate your possibilities.