The National Anthem — A story of strength, sacrifice, and freedom

Today, if you have the honor of living in the United States of America, no matter how divided we currently are, you still live in the greatest country in the world. You live in a country where you have freedoms that no other country has. You live in a country in which you have the opportunity to achieve your dreams. You live in a country in which you have the freedom to not only survive, but thrive as you provide for yourself and your family. You live in a country where you have the freedom to worship freely. America is the greatest country in the world.

So let’s think for just a moment. How did America become the greatest country in the world? Was it by chance? Did it just happen? Where we lucky? Have we continued to be lucky?

Of course not. America became the greatest country in the world, the country with the most to offer, the country with the greatest opportunity, not because of anything other than the sacrifice of many.

Think about how many wars have been fought, how many people have given their lives, so that you and I have the opportunity to live in a country that is known as the “land of the free, the home of the brave.” Would you believe somewhere north of 1.2 million lives have been lost in order to give us the freedoms we have today.