As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we do more than commemorate the signing of a declaration. We celebrate the greatest political experiment ever undertaken by mankind: a nation founded by our Founding Fathers on the revolutionary idea that our rights come not from government, but from God.
For two and a half centuries, generation after generation of Americans have defended that idea with their blood, their sacrifice, and their unwavering belief that this country is unlike any other on Earth.
They crossed frozen rivers with George Washington. They preserved the Union under Abraham Lincoln. They stormed the beaches of Normandy, liberated Europe from tyranny, defeated communism, and answered the call after September 11. Every generation has inherited freedom, and every generation has been asked to defend it.
Now it is our turn. America is not perfect. It never has been. But perfection has never been our promise. Opportunity has.
Only in America could a first-generation son of Syrian immigrants, born right here in the United States, grow up with nothing more than his parents’ faith in the future, serve as a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer, and one day stand on the floor of the House of Representatives to take the oath as a Member of Congress.
My story is proof that the American Dream is not a slogan. It is a living promise. In this country, we don’t judge people by where their parents came from, what their last name is, or the circumstances of their birth. We judge them by the content of their character, the depth of their commitment to our country, and what they are willing to sacrifice for it. That is the miracle of America, and it is a miracle worth defending every single day.
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It’s a classic American story: every family that has come here seeking liberty, every entrepreneur who built a business from nothing, every veteran who returned home to raise a family, every parent who worked overtime so their children could have a better life.
What makes this nation exceptional is not simply our wealth or our power. It is our principles.
We believe every person is created equal in the eyes of God. We protect the free exercise of religion instead of persecuting people for their faith. We defend the freedom to speak, worship, assemble, and petition our government.
We recognize that the government exists to serve the people, not the other way around.
Sadly, those ideas remain rare throughout much of the world.
America also possesses something history has repeatedly shown to be indispensable to preserving peace: unmatched strength.
Our Armed Forces are the finest fighting force the world has ever known. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen — along with our intelligence professionals and veterans — do more than protect our borders.
They preserve the international order that has prevented far greater conflicts and defended freedom across the globe. Peace is not secured through wishful thinking or empty slogans. It is earned through strength, deterrence, and the unbreakable will to confront those who threaten our liberty and our way of life.
Too often today, the media and those who hate our country ask us only to dwell on its perceived shortcomings. We are told to apologize for our history rather than celebrate it. We are taught to focus on what divides us instead of what unites us.
But gratitude and patriotism are not signs of ignorance. They are signs of perspective.
Travel the world, as I have, and you quickly realize just how extraordinary the United States truly is. Billions of people do not dream of coming here by accident. They come because America remains the greatest engine of freedom, opportunity, and human flourishing ever created.
The American Dream is still alive. It still rewards hard work over privilege, faith over cynicism, and freedom over government control. But we cannot take it for granted.
As communist and socialist ideas continue to gain traction in too many of our blue cities and states, we are reminded that freedom is never guaranteed. Every generation must choose whether it will preserve the blessings it inherited or allow them to slip away.
That is why, as we celebrate 250 years of this remarkable nation, now is not the time for complacency.
It is time to stand together as one America. To defend the Constitution, protect our God-given liberties, and to preserve the American Dream for our children and grandchildren.
America is worth defending because it remains the last, best hope for millions around the world.
America is worth fighting for because freedom is always worth fighting for.
And America is worth celebrating because, after 250 years, there has never been another nation quite like it. May God continue to bless the United States of America, and may we always have the courage and the conviction to fight for her future, together, as one America.
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