America America God Shed His Grace on Thee

A thoughtful mind, when it sees a Nation's flag, sees not the flag only, but the Nation itself; and whatever may be its symbols, its insignia, he reads chiefly in the flag the Government, the principles, the truths, the history which belongs to the Nation which belongs to the Nation that sets it forth." -- Henry Ward Beecher

"God bless America, land that I love,
Stand beside her, and guide her,
Through the night, with the light from above,
From the mountains, to the prairies
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home,
God bless America! My Home Sweet Home!" --Irving Berlin, God Bless America

"We can't all be Washingtons, but we can all be patriots." -- Charles F. Browne

"Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country."-- Calvin Coolidge

"True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else." -- Clarence Darrow

"Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong!" -- Steven Decatur

"And I'm proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me
And I'll proudly stand up next to him to defend her still today,
Cuz there aint no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA" -- Lee Greenwood, Proud To Be An Americann


"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." -- Nathan Hale's last words before being hanged by British.

"Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" -- Patrick Henry

"When I die, I desire no better winding sheet than the Stars and Stripes, and no softer pillow than the Constitution of my country." -- Andrew Johnson

"American Girls and American Guys
We'll always stand up and salute
We'll always recognize
When we see Old Glory Flying
There's a lot of men dead
So we can sleep in peace at night
When we lay down our head." -- Toby Keith, Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue


"Justice will be served
And the battle will rage
This big dog will fight
When you rattle his cage
And you'll be sorry that you messed with
The U.S. of A.
'Cause we'll put a boot in your *ss
It's the American way" -- Toby Keith, Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue


"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty." -- John F. Kennedy

"(W)e here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." -- Abe Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." -- Abraham Lincoln

"We must always remember that America is a great nation today not because of what government did for people but because of what people did for themselves and for one another." -- Richard Nixon

"Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter we are known at home, by the former to the world. Our great title is AMERICANS…" -- Thomas Paine

"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 it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." -- Thomas Paine

"Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return." -- Colin Powell

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." -- The Pledge Of Allegiance

"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children (America), the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done." -- Ronald Reagan

"And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home." -- Ronald Reagan

"In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead" -- Ronald Reagan

"Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihood -- the virtues that made America." -- Teddy Roosevelt

"Yonder are the Hessians. They were bought for seven pounds and tenpence a man. Are you worth more? Prove it. Tonight the American flag floats from yonder hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!" -- John Stark at the Battle of Bennington in 1777

"I venture to suggest that partiotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." -- Adali Stevenson

"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, For then it costs nothing to be a patriot." -- Mark Twain

"I shall know but one country. The ends I aim at shall be my country’s, my God’s and Truth’s. I was born an American; I live an American; I shall die an American." -- Daniel Webster

"Sure I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? Sure I love my country with all her faults. I'm not ashamed of that, never have been, never will be." -- John Wayne

"The things that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history." -- Woodrow Wilson


Michael Mack
An American

John Wayne An American Hero

FOLKS: All my life I've felt privileged to have had good friends around me, privileged to have been able to do the kind of work I know and love the best, and to have been born in a country whose immense beauty and grandeur are matched only by the greatness of her people.

For a number of years I have tried to express a deep and profound love for these things; to be able to say what I feel in my heart. And, now, in this album, I've had the chance to do so. I know most of you feel the same as I do about our country.

Now and then we gripe about some of her imperfections, but sometimes that's good. Especially if it gets us working together to make things better.

It seems to me we often take too much for granted, and have a tendency to forget The Good Things About America.

My hope and prayer is that everyone know and love our country for what she really is and what she stands for. May we nurture her strengths, and strengthen her weaknesses so she will be, that she will always be,

Land Of The Free, and Home Of The Brave.

Sincerely,

John Wayne

You ask me why I love her?

You ask me why I love her? Well, give me time, and I'll explain...

Have you seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain ?

Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way?

Have you watched the cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay?

Have you heard a Bobwhite calling in the Carolina pines?

Or heard the bellow of a diesel in the Appalachia mines?

Does the call of Niagara thrill you when you hear her waters roar?

Do you look with awe and wonder at a Massachusetts shore...

Where men who braved a hard new world, first stepped on Plymouth Rock?

And do you think of them when you stroll along a New York City dock ?

Have you seen a snowflake drifting in the Rockies... way up high?

Have you seen the sun come blazing down from a bright Nevada sky?

Do you hail to the Columbia as she rushes to the sea...

Or bow your head at Gettysburg... in our struggle to be free?

Have you seen the mighty Tetons? ...Have you watched an eagle soar?

Have you seen the Mississippi roll along Missouri's shore?

Have you felt a chill at Michigan, when on a winters day,

Her waters rage along the shore in a thunderous display?

Does the word "Aloha"... make you warm? Do you stare in disbelief When you see the surf come roaring in at Waimea reef?

From Alaska's gold to the Everglades... from the Rio Grande to Maine...

My heart cries out... my pulse runs fast at the might of her domain.

You ask me why I love her?... I've a million reasons why.

My beautiful America... beneath Gods' wide, wide sky.

And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea."

This note was pinned by John Wayne many years ago and it reminds me of exactly why

I Love America and nobody can take that away from me!

Michael Mack
An American