In God We Trust

The United States of America will turn 250 years old in a few weeks. From a ragtag group of colonists and settlers, we have grown into the most powerful nation in the world today. The summer of 2026 will be a time for celebration, contemplation, and anticipation. Americans love to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and accomplishments. Historically, the United States of America is younger than the vast number of nations in the world. In 1976 we celebrated our bicentennial. The whole year was filled with various reminders of “the Spirit of ‘76.” My wife and I married February 28, and Natalie Cole became the first African American woman to receive a Grammy Award for the Best New Artist that year. In March, Queen Elizabeth II sent the first royal email over ARPANET, one of several networks destined to become the Internet, a combination of networks envisioned by Al Gore. No fooling, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer on April 1. Computers and networks were all the rage back then. What did Americans do with all this computing power? NASA safely landed the Viking 1 Lander on Mars on June 19. Americans celebrated from sea to shining sea with parades and fireworks. America’s history is worthy of contemplation. A lot happens over a quarter of a thousand years. It took a lot of the good, the bad, and the ugly to make us what we are today. After our own history of wars, Europe began arguing over whatnot and who’s better at war. The smart leaders asked us for help. We crossed the pond and helped them end the fighting without claiming any land for ourselves. Their next big war went worldwide, and they wanted us to help with that war on two fronts. Well, we helped them end both fronts at the same time and didn’t claim anything for our trouble. We did help them pay for wartime damage and rebuilding what they never had before. Then we returned to our home nation hoping we had helped make the world a safer and better place. N e v e r t h e l e s s , America is vulnerable to messing where we ought not to be messing just like other nations. It wasn’t long until we found ourselves up to no good deed goes unpunished. From what I remember and have since been told, America’s political leaders rejected President Eisenhower’s warning to beware the militaryindustrial complex. That’s about the time our national politics turned deadly. For many reasons the United States of America has fought many battles and wars around the world. But, as a nation we’ve also enjoyed many accomplishments, including providing a culture and an economy that has benefitted generations of families. Though our population makes up only five percent of the world’s people, our citizens enjoy riches and privileges far exceeding the rest of the world. God has certainly blessed America and shed His grace on us, reminding us that “to whom much is given, much is required.” Considering who we are today as a nation, we would do well to stop fighting among ourselves. We are unique among the nations. We were founded on individual freedom, personal responsibility, and equality of all our citizens. We especially value our freedom of speech, religion, and the right of personal choices. Our motto: “In God We Trust.”