A thank you to those who've made our country what it is

My three favorite days of the year are Christmas, Opening Day and the Fourth of July. So today - celebrating Michael's first Fourth - is pretty special.

The fourth is the perfect holiday. You can spend time with family and friends outside. You can eat great food, watch and play baseball all day and tuck into bed after a night of fireworks.
But I also want Michael to understand the sacrifices people have made for him.

Michael and Uncle Rich

Cousin Maggie

I hope he comes to understand the sacrifices of people who put their life on the line to protect his freedoms. People he knows, like his Poppy Abdalla, Uncle Pete, Uncle Rich, Aunt Cindy and cousin Maggie.
I want him to know about real-life heroes such as George Washington, Colin Powell and Pat Tillman.
I hope he appreciates the people he will never meet who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
But I also want him to know that there are people out there who protected his freedom and made this country what it is today  without taking up arms.
After all, Thomas Jefferson and John Madison wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution respectively but never served in the military. 
But I don't expect anyone to forget the importance of people like them
I sometimes worry that the sacrifices and lessons of others who served this country in non-military ways  get lost on the Fourth of July.
Of course, I'm not saying this is an either/or thing. And I'm not in any way diminishing the service of our men and women in the military.
I just hope he grows up to realize that there are many ways to serve this country and make it better. To me, the Fourth of July is the perfect time to understand the lessons of everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Jackie Robinson to Gen. George Marshall.
I hope he appreciates the lawmakers who have made the laws that made this country better - the Robert F. Kennedys, Robert La Follettes, and Henry Clay's.
I hope he appreciates the freedom fighters - the Susan B. Anthonys, Thaddeus Stevens and the Booker T. Washingtons - who have worked for the rights of every person.
I hope he appreciates the lawyers and justices  - the Thurgood Marshalls, Earl Warrens and Clarence Darrows - who helped grow freedom.
I hope he appreciates the mothers and fathers - who volunteer at their children's schools, churches and playgrounds - struggle to make their communities better.
I hope he appreciates the religious leaders - the Dorothy Days and Martin Luther King Jrs - who brought justice and service to the less fortunate.
I hope he remembers the community leaders who volunteer at fire company fundraisers and mow the Little League field. The lesson in their selflessness is profound and this day belongs to them too.
I hope he learns to look at the people along different political lines and find lessons in their virtues and sins.
I hope he is inspired by the journalists - the Ben Franklins, the Bob Woodwards and the Frederick Douglasses - who have fought to keep the public informed, the government in check and turn a spotlight on the problems in our society.
I hope he respects the scientists who used their knowledge to better our lives and further our imaginations - the Jonas Salks, Albert Einsteins and Edwin Hubbles.
I hope he thinks of his teachers. I hope he has ones like I did. They'll challenge him, bring out the best in him and make him a better citizen.
These people are why I love the Fourth of July. We can look at our country and say, "No, it's not perfect. Yet. But we're still moving in the right direction and the people in the country will always be our greatest resource."