I’m So Excited, and No, Not Because of Diet Pills

I may have mentioned it before: I love the law.  I love practicing law.  Besides showing up in court rooms and fighting with people, and making the occasional Constitutional law argument (believe it or not, it does happen), I get to do some other really cool law related things that cause the occasional geek out.  These occasions include, but are not limited to: volunteering as a Guardian ad Litem (very cool), serving as an “Ambassador” of the Indiana Attorney General’s office at community events, presiding as a judge pro tem over court proceedings, and the most recent geek out opportunity - the opportunity to speak at one of this summer’s immigration and naturalization ceremonies.  Why is that a “geek out” opportunity?  Because I.Love.America.

I know it may not be cool to say, but I do.  With all her faults and flaws and discord, I love her from sea to shining sea.  Except parts of Kansas (I-70 anyone?).  Sorry Kansas.  I get choked up at the sound of a crowd singing the Star Spangled Banner even when it is off key.  As anyone who has been with me at the opening of the “greatest spectacle in racing”, you can pretty much consider me down for the count after a WWII flyover.  Any flyover really.  I am in love with where we’ve been and in prayer for where we will go.  That does not, by any stretch of the imagination, mean that I agree with every policy made by any leader or governing body of my lifetime.  On the contrary I can think of a good many, especially of late, that give me great pause.  That is the beauty of this place.  I can absolutely categorically to my bones disagree with a major policy decision, or war, or domestic or international policy, or tax, or non-tax, and not have to love my country any less.  But I was born with it.

For more than two centuries, this country has allowed my family the freedoms and opportunities to chase life, liberty and engage in the pursuit of happiness in whatever direction they’ve seen fit.  I am excessively excited to be able to share that with a new group of fellow Americans.  I know that people come here for different reasons and that everyone’s experiences are different.  I know that we are not always going to agree.  I also know that at that ceremony, I will be looking into the faces of some people who have done what I’ve never had to. They’ve “chosen” us.  For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, they’ve said goodbye to old homelands and cast their lot with us and that is huge to me.  I’m thankful for them.  I’m thankful for the reminder of everything that I love about my home.  There have been dark days, certainly, and there always will be.  We are promised the opportunity to pursue happiness, not that it will be handed to us and I think that is a beautiful thing.  For myself, the beauty, the pride, comes from the hard battle won.  Even in the courtroom I take less joy in the easy victories.   I hope that these new citizens are ready to roll up their sleeves and dig in because there is work to be done.  I hope that they see all of the possibilities that lay before them.  I hope that two hundred years from now their 15^th great grandchild will be just as geeked out to stand in front of a crowd and bid welcome as I am.  Because, if you can’t tell, I’m pretty excited.

Better get a box of tissues.

-DEC