PATRIOTISM

Secretary Joey Strickland
Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs

“All through our history, our Presidents and leaders have spoken of national unity and warned us that the real obstacle to moving forward the boundaries of freedom, the only permanent danger to the hope that is America, comes from within,” President Ronald Reagan once said. “My fellow Americans, it falls to us to keep faith with them and all the great Americans of our past.”

Happy 243rd Birthday, America! On July 4th, we will host massive celebrations across our great state and nation honoring the day we signed our Declaration of Independence. While we are fairly young as a country, no one can question the impact that the United States of America has made and will continue to make in the world.

From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of the American spirit and its independence. We do so with festivities often involving fireworks, parades, concerts, and outdoor barbeques. But, we also do so because of the blood, sweat, and sacrifice of patriots that have served in our U.S. Armed Forces.

In 1870, the U.S. Congress made July 4th a federal holiday. Our Independence Day has remained an important national holiday and a symbol of our patriotism.

Today, the original copy of the Declaration is housed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and we continue to commemorate the day we laid down our claim to be a free and independent nation.
The most common symbol of the holiday is the American flag, and a common musical accompaniment is “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the national anthem of the United States. And, I can always tell who the veterans are in a room or at an event by the way they stand tall to show respect to those symbols and all that they stand for.

Thank you, veterans. For your service to our state and our country, and the sacrifices that not only you, but your families made and continue to make in order to help protect the freedoms that we all enjoy, and to support the communities that we all love.

I’m proud to say that I have worked in the Veterans Affairs arena for over 21 years, and now serve at the pleasure of Governor John Bel Edwards as Secretary of your Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs. This is a Department that Gov. Edwards is committed to supporting, and has come to rely on frequently for support.

So, as we blow out another candle in America’s birthday cake, I humbly ask a couple things of each one of us Louisianans.

First that, somehow, we continue to expand upon the unique makeup of our great country’s history. That our great state continues to highlight all that Loving Louisiana stands for by sharing our unique culture and patriotism with the world.

Second, when we gather with friends and families to celebrate the freedoms that we all enjoy, we remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to our country. Let’s continue to care for the men and women who went to battle for us, and treat them and their families, with the gratitude and respect that they’ve earned.

“Land of the free because of the brave.” That is what the America I know stands for. Union, Justice, Confidence. That is what Louisiana stands for. And that’s something worth celebrating. Happy Fourth of July!