Happy 241st Birthday America

by Gary Toebben

Today is the birthday of our great nation. A day of celebration, parades, picnics and good times with family and friends. It should also be a day of gratitude.

Gratitude for the founders of our nation, whose courage, dreams, and wisdom created the greatest democracy and incubator of free enterprise on earth. Gratitude for the freedom and personal liberties provided in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Gratitude for the peaceful transition of elected leadership at all levels of government, even after hard-fought and divisive campaigns.

Gratitude for the men and women who serve in our armed forces and keep our nation secure. Gratitude for those in the public and private sector who make our lives safer, more comfortable and more enjoyable. And Gratitude for our family and friends.

July 4 is also a day when I think about the other six billion people on this earth, their roots, their nations and their dreams. The words of "This Is My Song" written by Lloyd Stone in 1934, and sung to the melody of "Finlandia," express my thoughts best.

This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine;
this is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine:
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
but other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine:
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.

Happy Birthday America. I am very grateful and proud to call you my home.

And that's The Business Perspective.