05/19/08 One Nation

I have just recently returned from a business trip to our nation's capitol and found it a very enlightening and humbling experience. This was my first visit to Washington D.C. and I was very excited to see our nation's historic monuments and dedicated memorials, let alone the Whitehouse. I was not however prepared for the overwhelming sense of patriotic pride that washed over me as I stood looking up at the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Korean, WWII and Vietnam War memorials. No photograph or travel brochure can do these great tributes justice. And my numerous history classes of school days gone by did not prepare me for the incredible sense of gratitude and reverence I would feel as I stood in the National Hall of Archives and read those 56 businessmen and farmers signatures on the Declaration of Independence. No matter what your political views of the moment are one thing is certain, our country was built on liberty and individual rights, and no matter how crackled the surface may appear at times, the foundation is still rock solid and secure.