In a 2015 interview at the Smithsonian, to a standing crowd, Eddie Van Halen, namesake of the legendary band Van Halen, was asked if he was living the American Dream. He said: “We came here with approximately $50 and a piano, and we didn’t speak the language. Now look where we are. If that’s not the American Dream, what is?”  Elaborating about what it meant to him to be living in the United States he said: “I’m very proud to be an American, for one. It’s freedom. And a country of opportunity where if you have a dream, a gift, a talent, and a passion — IF YOU WORK YOUR TAIL OFF (bold mine) — you still have the opportunity to achieve anything you want to achieve.”

Just wanted to share those few words for your contemplative pleasure on this Independence Day, when (actually August 2) in 1776, a group of fiercely strong men, ranging in ages from 26 to 70, the youngest being Edward Rutledge of South Carolina to the oldest Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, chose to unite and fight together to build our great Nation: The UNITED States of America. 

As my Dad would say: Let’s not screw it up. 

I’m @DianGriesel aka @SilverDisobedience