My Country 'Tis of Thee

You, my homeland Are of a beauty unrivaled From one coast to the other Your plains and rolling hills and pointy peaks Cry to the heavens of freedom Your jagged coasts and sandy keys Offer the arms of welcome and opportunity to the world And teem with the gifts of the oceans Lakes and rivers and streams Born with purity in the snow-crusted mountains Are the lifeblood of the people Bubbling with earth's finest bounty And carrying the breath of all creation on their backs From cities bulging with people To a wilderness, untouched and untamed You are the envy of the earth And the bosom of liberty America. I live here In the United States Yes, I'm proud Proud of where I live Blessed to have been born in a place Where I can chase a dream Where I can speak my mind without fear of punishment or death Worship, (or not), in the way I choose Get healthcare, schooling, and assistance in a number of ways Learn to drive and get a license when I reached 15 Vote at age 18 in a democratic process And follow the interests I decide on, freely These are extraordinary things When you think of the restrictions Of much of the rest of the world I was taught from an early age not to take these things for granted And that many of my opportunities and rights Had been paid and fought for By the energies and lives of our people in military service I'm thankful for that Whatever others may say, to me this is the greatest country We are usually the first to be called upon When another country needs help And usually the first to respond, in any way we can But we are also the largest target And take much of the blame for negative things that happen No matter where it is And yes, that bothers me. There IS no perfect place, and certainly not this But it is a land of freedom and opportunity And people move here from all over the world for those reasons I was blessed to be born when I was - When a kid could go for a walk and not end up on a milk carton But I was even MORE blessed to be born WHERE I was And I thank the heavens every day That I am an American.