Paul Keefer

A few years ago, my wife and I visited Olympic National Park in Washington. In our first morning there, we toured the ocean views and completed the most challenging hike we’d ever done, climbing over 2,000 feet in elevation to reach the top of Mt. Storm King. It’s one of those hikes that as soon as you think you’re done with the hills, you turn a switchback to see yet another hill.

Last weekend, the United States of America turned 250 years old. It’s amazing, and also surprisingly short for the magnitude and greatness our country has evolved into. We have transformed from several small colonies across the Atlantic Ocean to the world’s greatest superpower in only a few centuries. But what is it about our country that is most worth celebrating?