This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Proud to be an American!

Celebrating our Great Nation

I'm always proud to be a citizen of the United States of America.  Born 41 years ago in Memphis, I spent most of the past 19 in the west suburbs of Chicago. I was raised to be proud of my heritage, my country and all the U.S. of A. stands for.  A couple times a year, though, I get the choked-up, heart-swelling feeling that really makes me stand proud to be an American.

Last night was one of those times.  We attended a fireworks display in Oxford, Wisc., a small town near the Dells, where down-home America is truly represented.  

After parking, we walked a couple of blocks with our snacks and our chairs and set up about 25 feet from the "police tape" that cordoned off the spot where the fireworks would be set off.

Find out what's happening in Bolingbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

All around us were families sitting on blankets enjoying the beautiful weather.  Kids running around playing tag and showing off their glow sticks.  A man came by with a water jug asking for donations to help incur the cost of the fireworks display which was sponsored by the Oxford Fire Department and the Oxford Lions Club. 

About 9:50 p.m., the DJ who had been playing great music, announced that the display would begin in about 10 minutes and everyone settled down in anticipation.  

Find out what's happening in Bolingbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Right at 10:00 pm, the Star-Spangled Banner begin to play and everyone stood.  My husband removed his ever-present baseball cap and we all began to sing along to Cher's version of our National Anthem (okay, not my favorite rendition but it wasn't about Cher).  

To our right, our flag was flying high on the flagpole as the whoosh of the first rocket soared into the night sky and burst wide with a resounding boom.

This is when my heart swelled with pride in our nation.  It didn't matter what was going on outside that baseball field.  Everyone was there to celebrate the birth of our nation.  To join together and sing, with great pride, the one song that unites our nation.

As everyone sat back down to enjoy the rest of the display, the patriotic music continued. God Bless America, America (also known as 'They're Coming to America' by Neil Diamond), Independence Day by Martina McBride, etc., were blasting through the speakers as the whooshing and booming continued. 

Because we were so close to the baseball field where the rockets were being launched, the explosions were happening right above us and it seemed, at times, that the stars were raining down.  It was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking.

And then, the first strains of (in my opinion) one of the most patriotic songs of the past 10 years came on, "American Girls and American Guys, We'll always stand up and salute, We'll always recognize, When we see Ol' Glory flying..." and tears came to my eyes as I sang along. Yep, that's right, Toby Keith's 'Angry American'.  And then and there, I said a prayer for the brave, self-less men and women of our United States Military who are every single day protecting the freedoms so many of us take for granted.  

As the song continued to play, though, those tears became immense pride and righteous indignation came over me as I thought of the events of September 11, 2001, and the fact that courageous men of the Navy Seals finally got the evil mastermind of that day when they killed Osama bin Laden about two months ago.  While the events of 9/11 will never truly be avenged, I was, once again, so very, very proud to have been born in such an amazing Country.

So, as you celebrate our Independence this weekend, hold your head high, stick out your chest, put your hand over your heart and sing the words of our National Anthem with pride...and remember that, all over our great Country, millions of Americans are singing right along with you.

God Bless America!

Donna

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?