Celebrating the Birth of Our Great Nation — Are You Living the Ideals Behind the Flag?

As an American who grew up in Saudi Arabia, I reflect daily on my gratitude for the freedoms on which this country’s birth was founded — the ability to pursue your dreams, the ability to use your voice, the ability to have liberty and equity.

When I was living there — probably around third grade, if memory serves — I won a Presidential Award (again, if memory serves correctly) for my essay on What It Means to Be an American. While I don’t still have the essay, my guess is that my opinions and core philosophies probably haven’t changed much.

Living overseas gives you a lens of contrast and differentiation to filter things through — and those core values that birthed our nation absolutely align with my own core values.

Living overseas and traveling extensively globally, however, also helped form my opinions and perspectives — namely, that we, as Americans, take a lot of things for granted.

I always joke with those close to me and say that if I ran the U.S., I would ship every American overseas for a year — it doesn’t even matter where they go — just so they could experience another country and gain more gratitude for all the things we take for granted.

We get so busy and distracted in life that we forget our moral obligations — to each other, to our country, and to being seen as a leader in the rest of the world.

And as I so often do, if you’re reading this article, I would ask you to take time out of your activities and celebrations to reflect on how you are showing up as an American.

If you identify with being an American, do your daily actions reflect the very core values with which that identity was birthed? Do you live by those codes?

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”

(Inherent human equality — affirming that every human being has equal value, that no one is born with more worth, and no one should have less voice.)

“…that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

(Unalienable Rights for All — affirming that these rights aren’t earned or granted, they are inherent. That’s the bedrock of self-sovereignty. Everyone has a divine, untouchable right to their own dignity, path, and purpose.)

“…to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

(Government Must Reflect the Will of the People — affirming collective power and mutual responsibility, not domination. It means the people are the foundation, not the systems.)

These ideas were foundational to the birth of our nation— and if you identify as an American, I would propose that you should endeavor to live up to those ideals— in action, in involvement, in systems, and especially when it’s time to stand up.

On this 4th of July, I hope we remember that America was born not just from rebellion, but from a radical belief in the sacred worth of every human being. This Independence Day, let those words ring true — not just as history, but as action.

Liberty was never meant to be uniform. It was meant to protect diversity, not erase it. It was built on the idea that our rights are not given — they are ours by birth, by nature, by divine design.

Self-sovereignty means each person has the power — and the right — to live authentically. But collective humanity means we hold space for each other to do so, even when it’s messy, complex, or different.

Sovereignty was never meant for rulers — it lives in each of us. It is both our right and our charge to honor it in ourselves, our neighbors, and even those we challenge.

“Sovereignty… as understood in the Declaration of Independence was originally, and by nature, the equal and unalienable possession of individual human beings. … No man had more right to rule another than the other had to rule him.” — Harry V. Jaffa

“He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” — Thomas Paine, Dissertation on First Principles of Government (July 1795)

Both are profound reminders that true freedom comes with protecting the freedom of others. As an American celebrating the birth of our country today, we have the obligation and moral duty to ensure liberty for all — not just ourselves.

Let us celebrate July 4th by choosing love over fear, unity over division — and letting liberty be the fire that lights us all.

Let’s celebrate our freedom not by retreating into labels — but by transcending them. Let us be kind, and let us be bold. Let us speak truth, and let us do so with compassion. Let us love unconditionally — not in spite of our differences, but because of them.

Because that is what makes this country beautiful. And that is what makes us free.

Extra special shoutout to ChatGPT for the creative brainstorming that helped this message take shape. The research capabilities really make my world more magical.