My grandparents and great grandparents came to this country in search of freedom and prosperity, and I am lucky to find an abundance of both here in the USA. We make mistakes from time to time but we were founded on timeless principles and, like a boat that tips for a while in rough water, we will right ourselves and find our center again.

I hope that this year we work as a country to protect our freedom and civil liberties. I hope that other countries learn from our example, rather than from our force, of the good that comes from people who determine their own fate through self-governance, deliberation, and a shared vision of how people should live together, competing for unnecessary, material things, while making sure that the basic needs of all are satisfied.

Here's to you, my ancestors, who chose this wonderful country as my birthplace.