Happy Fourth of July from my family to yours!
I hope you are spending the day celebrating with your loved ones.
Growing up, there was one thing that my parents always made clear to us — The United States of America was the greatest country in the world, and we were fortunate to be Americans. As immigrants who fled a dictatorship in Syria and sought legal asylum, my parents were under no illusions about what life was like without freedom and without a government that operated under the rule of law. They taught me that it was only here that we could be fully free to live out our faith and choose our own destiny.
The great American experiment continues to be one of the marvels of history. A group of imperfect but principled men, motivated by a desire for self-determination and freedom from an oppressive government, came together, put aside their individual ambitions, defeated one of the great world powers of that time, and then went on to form a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. They etched into our Declaration of Independence and Constitution principles that still live on — despite attempts to erase them: that all men are created equal, that freedom is God-given not government-granted, that government comes from the people, answers to them, and returns to them, and that the freedom to worship, to speak your mind, and to live out your beliefs as you wish cannot be infringed.
We have much to celebrate today — and also much to defend. Freedom isn’t maintained without a fight. It’s always on the verge of being lost or stolen. We know there are forces within this country and outside it who have made it their mission to destroy our foundations and everything that has made America a beacon of hope for the world.
So today, let us be renewed in our purpose to protect all that makes America great and to unite together in restoring the American promise for our children and grandchildren.