On July 4th, 1976 I was in New York. I was 6 going on 7. I remember watching the fireworks against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty. It's one of my earliest memories. I remember how important it felt to me even at that young age, that our country was 200 years old (which seemed very old to me at the time), and that I was witnessing her birthday. It was my earliest experience of being proud to be an American.
On the 250th birthday of the United States, I still have the optimism that I had then at age 6, but I'm older and that comes with an overdose of cynicism. I hope that we can all get through this crazy period without huge turmoil and upheaval, and that we can maintain our health and wealth as a nation and as individuals, in spite of the incompetence, corruption, and selfishness that we see around us.