Happy Birthday, America! On July 4th, 1776, America was conceived through the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Though it has had a long history of turmoil and struggles for many minority groups, and the rights were in fact not equal during its conception, I’d like to think progress has been made in those 247 years.
I’m personally grateful for the opportunities America has provided to us Vietnamese Americans as we immigrated to the United States. Without America, my family wouldn’t be the success story we are, using education in school as our primary mechanism to gain upward mobility. This is why I am saddened when I see so many students I teach not take advantage of the education provided to them. I’m sure for even the haters of America today they can pinpoint to the opportunities this nation has provided them throughout the years.
Thank you, America, and thank you to our country for conceiving a nation under the proposition that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights – among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. My happiness was pursued when I got married to Katherine.
