I am an American. I could not live anywhere else.
My feelings about this country are expressed in Sir Walter Scott’s well-known words:
“Breathes there the man with soul so dead
Who never to himself hath said This is my own, my native land!”
Recently the Irish singer Bono said, “Ireland is a country. America is an idea.” As children in classrooms, as adults in our communities, we speak out loud these ideas we know to be self-evident truths.
On January 6, 2021 we were appalled to witness insurrectionists trashing the temple of our laws.
My hope for America in 2021 and the years after is that we conform to my favorite prayer:
“Grant us peace, Your most precious gift, O Eternal Source of peace, and give us the will to proclaim its message to all the peoples of the earth. Bless our country, that it may always be a stronghold of peace, and its advocate among the nations. May contentment reign within its borders, health and happiness within its homes.
Strengthen the bonds of friendship among the inhabitants of all lands, and may the love of Your name hallow every home and every heart. Blessed is the Eternal God, the Source of peace.” – Gates of Prayer, The New Union Prayer Book
(Editor’s note: The writer, Frank Malley, is a regular contributor and valued member of the Eden Prairie Local News (EPLN) journalism team.)