Happy Birthday, America. From all of us at Hot Air and our affiliated Townhall sites, we hope that all of you who are American citizens or legal visitors to our nation have the opportunity to gather with family and friends and take a moment to appreciate all of the blessings that come with living in a country that represents the greatest force for freedom and opportunity that the world has ever seen. And for our readers in other countries, please join us in recognizing how far we have come and remember the sacrifices we have made for our allies.

The world is full of all manner of troubles these days as I’m sure you are well aware. But that doesn’t mean that we should lose touch with what’s most important to us. Our faith (in whichever form you please), our families, our friends, and our communal service to our nation characterize all that is best about America. July 4th wasn’t technically the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence. (That happened on July 2, 1776.) But in 1870, almost a hundred years after it was written, Congress declared July 4th to be a national holiday as part of a bill officially recognizing several holidays.

Take some time for yourselves today. You’ve earned it, if only for managing to survive 2020 and the first part of an almost equally tumultuous 2021. And as our Vice President might say, enjoy the long weekend. We’ll close with a few words to keep in mind, even though they aren’t heard in our nation’s schools as much as they used to be.

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”