On May 29, 1940, J. Reuben Clark, Jr. gave an address entitled “Why I Am an American”, in this address, he reiterated what countless patriots have declared before him, he said, “I am an American because I believe in a government of laws and not of men… I am an American because I believe that government must derive its ‘just powers from the consent of the governed’… I am an American because I believe in the greatest possible measure of self-government…I am an American because I believe that the destiny of America is to be an abiding place of liberty.” Many people today pride themselves on being an American because of the freedom we have; however, though we may have more freedom than many other places, we are still enslaved by the chains of tyranny, even though are chains may be longer. Being an American does not simply mean you live in America, being a true American or patriot means standing up for your liberty, and working to break the chains that enslave you. We have an obligation to obey the government when it abides by the Constitution, but when it doesn’t, we do not have to, and should not support it. Being a true American means not allowing a tyrant to take your freedom, we just fight for our liberty, and only then can we be called patriots.

I am an American because I love my country. I am an American because I value virtue and liberty. I am an American because I believe that we can never truly be free unless the government we have chosen abides strictly by the Constitution.

I am an American because I believe that we are not yet completely free, but I am fighting to get there. I am an American because I believe that liberty is important today, and that we need to fight for it. I am an American because I believe that one day, we will have liberty, and I am an American because I will never settle for anything less.

Yours truly,

Publius