Now is the time that the act loving your country be redefined. It is easy to wave a flag, go to a cookout, wear national colors. What is more difficult is to serve your fellow citizens, respect your neighbors for who they are and care about their well being as you do your own. It’s more than going to war it also means striving for peace in ones own communities.

Putting in the work to make your country the best it can be tough but through some sweat and sacrifice much can be accomplished. Nothing worth doing can be done with catch phrases and slogans. It requires a lot of dedication and so much more.

All these things can be applied just about anywhere in the world. None of this means being a nationalist because there is a larger global community in which each of us belongs to. No country or its citizens can truly go it alone.

You may have your independence, but you are still dependent on one another. Freedom’s bell cannot ring unless life, liberty, and happiness is guaranteed for all, no matter what.