Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I wish you and your family a happy and blessed Independence Day.
This week is a perfect opportunity to celebrate the America in which we have honored time-tested principles of faith, family, and freedom. Be safe, celebrate the day, and have fun!
Today it is important to consider the state of our union and our state during these turbulent times. With that said, these words written by Thomas Paine in December of 1776 are relevant words that I used to ask my students to memorize so they could remember when strife confronts us:
“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.”
God bless you. God bless Minnesota. And God bless America.
Sondra