God Bless America
by Irving Berlin

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea
Let us pledge allegiance to a land that's free.
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God Bless America, land that I love.
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God Bless America, my home sweet home.
God Bless America, my home sweet home.

Freedom is not Free

—From the Korean War memorial

There are those who will say that the liberation of humanity,
the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream.
They are right. It is the American dream.

—Archibald MacLeish, A Continuing Journey

Being American is not a matter of birth.
We must practice it every day, lest we become something else.

—Malcolm Wallop, in Imprimis

 How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where
happiness is more than a lack of tragedy.

—Paul Harvey

It's not the hand that signs the laws that holds the destiny of America.
It's the hand that casts the ballot.

—Harry Truman