From Sea to Shining Sea

"Oh, beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain;

For purple mountains' majesty

Above the fruited plain."

Wellesley College English professor, Katherine Lee Bates, penned these words during her travels across America. Inspired by the wheat fields of Kansas, the glorious Pikes Peak in Colorado, and the wonders at the World's Fair in Chicago, she was inspired by the cornerstones of what makes our nation great: the hard-working farmer, the awe-inspiring landscape, the genius of its citizens' minds, and our passion for freedom and liberty.

"O beautiful for pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassioned stress

A thoroughfare of freedom beat

Across the wilderness....

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife....

Undimmed by human tears!"

Even today, travels across America reveal the diversity and and beauty of the countryside, the cities, the people, the  history, the culture, the recreation, the food and the drink - there's always something new to see and enjoy.

Our nation is beautiful, with landscapes from lush to rugged, from oceans to parched desert, from thriving metropolis to small towns, solitary homesteads, and wilderness. Our people are creative, industrious, and energetic.

Freedom is what we needed to make it all happen, and what we need to continue our growth. It's what keeps us forging ahead, passionate for ourselves and our nation, whatever crisis we face.

May we renew our appreciation for freedom, for individual rights, for each person's right to live life in his or her own way, personally following her own goals, professionally striving for growth, profit, success, and innovation.

Happy Independence Day!