JULY 4th

Hello,
I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful July 4th holiday this weekend. I wanted to share the following with you. It was written by NCGOP Vice Chairman, Susan Mills.

"This weekend brings about July the 4th. As a child I remember looking forward to this day because we always had a big cookout with family and friends. It was about having someone to play with (I am an only child), someone to catch fireflies with that night, and eating all the fresh fruits and vegetables from our garden.

As I grew up, I began to realize the importance of July 4th. It is because of our Independence that I was able to have such a wonderful childhood. A childhood where going to church each Sunday was just a given. Where being able to say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday in school was something we all did because we were proud to be Americans. Where we respected our parents, respected the military, respected our police officers and respected the farmers because we knew that was where our food came from, and we respected the American Flag.

Today, we're facing a growing problem where the things we respected as children are no longer respected by many. How do we handle that? How do we teach our young people and even some adults that America is still that great Country she once was? How do we teach them that to get respect you have to give respect?

I will leave you with this from our beloved President Ronald Reagan: 'I have quoted John Winthrop's words more than once on the campaign trail this year - for I believe that Americans in 1980 are every bit as committed to that vision of a shining city on a hill, as were those long ago settlers... These visitors to that city on the Potomac do not come as white or black, red or yellow; they are not Jews or Christians; conservatives or liberals; or Democrats or Republicans. They are Americans awed by what has gone before, proud of what for them is still a shining city on a hill.'

May God bless you, your family, North Carolina, and this great country where we are blessed to live in the United States of America!'

Susan Mills
NCGOP Vice Chairwoman

Wishing you a safe 4th of July,
Paula