While there are many in our country who simply want to enjoy the freedom and liberty that comes with being an American, it’s crucial to understand that such benefits come at a cost. Part of that cost is understanding how that freedom and liberty was secured; and what maintains it from generation to generation. It isn’t the military. It isn’t any political party or elected official. It’s We The People and our loyalty to the principles on which this nation has existed for nearly 250 years.
Loyalty Day is observed on May 1st each year: it’s a special holiday intended for us to reaffirm our loyalty to the United States of America, and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom. While first recognized on May 1, 1955, Loyalty Day became an official annual holiday on July 18, 1958. Loyalty Day kicks off National Military Appreciation Month each year.
I hope you will join me in observing Loyalty Day by doing two easy things: reading the Declaration of Independence, a desperate letter from our founders to the world, which is available at the National Archives website https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript and becoming familiar with the United States Constitution: what its 7 Articles and 27 Amendments actually entail at https://constitutionus.com/
By learning more about our founding documents, we can have a far greater appreciation for how fragile our freedoms are; and why our loyalty to time-proven American principles is so important by being active in civic responsibilities like voting and holding our elected officials accountable to those principles.