Friday, June 14th is Flag Day. So, today I want to encourage you to fly your American flag with pride. The United States of America is the greatest nation in all of world history. No other nation has ever come close to matching the greatness of our republic, and today I want to remind you of that fact.

Some may ask, “Has America always done what is right?” The answer to this question is most assuredly, “No”. Such things as slavery, racism, and Native American genocide will forever tarnish our nation’s past. To be sure, it would be foolish to say that America has always been on the right side of truth, justice, liberty and righteousness.

No nation governed by human beings will ever be so perfect. The reason is that human beings are fallible. We make mistakes. As human beings, Americans are neither superhuman nor divine. However, what distinguishes America from the other nations of the world is the fact that we can talk openly about our past and learn from our mistakes. The fact that we recognize in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition the government as basic human rights is exactly what makes our republican form of government so great.

Despite our checkered past, America truly has a great story to tell. America, more than any other nation, has been the worldwide defender of freedom. When dictators arise and oppress nations, those nations turn to the United States of America for deliverance. On June 6th we celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion. Had the United States of America not intervened in Europe during WWII, Europeans would still be oppressed by Nazi dictators today.

Besides being the worldwide champions of justice and liberty, the American people have excelled more than any other modern nation in science, technology, philosophy, education, art, sports and entertainment. The list of American accomplishments is far too numerous to list exhaustively here. But, despite all of our wonderful achievements there remains still one more aspect of our American nation which propels us to the top of the list of the world’s greatest societies.

So what is it that makes America so great? The ultimate source of American greatness is the fact that we have always looked to God, honored him, and credited him for our success. Throughout our history as a nation, Americans have always recognized and honored God as the true source of our providential blessing. Perhaps, our National Motto says it best: “In God We Trust” or the song we sing at every baseball game, “God Bless America.” So, this year when you pledge your allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, remember what it means to be “One nation under God.”

Even when the future of America seems bleak, the American spirit remains strong. As Americans, we view every potential disaster as an opportunity to put American greatness on display for the rest of the world to see and to marvel at, and all of our American greatness is summed up and represented through the stars and stripes on the American flag.

So, as we fly our American flags high on Friday, let us remember all of these things which make America great, and let us teach them to our children, so that the next generation of Americans can be even greater than ours.