Dear America,
Two-hundred-and-forty-four years ago, the resolve, courage, and wisdom of your Founding Fathers forever changed the course of history. For the first time, with the ratification of your Declaration of Independence, mankind was offered an unmatched societal ideal. Human beings were recognized for what we truly are by nature: all created free and equal, endowed with unalienable rights derive from our Creator. With your Constitution, your Founders sealed these God given rights, and protected them by instituting a limited form of self-government along with a robust justice system.
This, America, is what makes your nation exceptional. It is why you have stood as a beacon of democracy and hope for all subjugated peoples over the past two centuries. During some of our darkest hours, we remember how you fought for those who couldn’t defend themselves from tyranny, at the cost of your own brave men. The world is forever in debt to your sacrifice, and we are grateful for the refuge you provide those who can flee persecution.
This, America, is your heritage and the reason we still look to you as our champion of liberty. Those currently fighting for their freedoms across the world value your brave Founding Fathers. From the peaceful Hong Kong protesters who proudly brandish the American flag in the streets, to the Iranian students who refused to walk over the painted star-and-stripes on the ground of a Tehran university, people who live under oppressive regimes know first hand that being free has no price. And they know that America is the ultimate shelter for the downtrodden.
