Good morning patriots! I thought in honor of the birthday of our nation, I would share with you some beauty. Let us start with the beauty of freedom.  Remember that no matter how much we disagree on, we are free to do so thanks to our Constitution. Never has a more beautiful outpouring of what is in every persons heart-the yearning to be truly free- been captured on paper.

The beauty of sacrifice for our fellow man. When the towers fell on 9/11, men and women banded together across this great nation to help those who were most directly affected. They also signed up in droves to go fight out enemies on their soil so that the rest of us might be protected from the worst of the battle. Even when it meant putting themelves in great danger.

And finally, the beauty that comes from a triumph of the soul. Our former Secretary of State, Condaleezza Rice, was born into the segregated South in Birmingham, Alabama. She rose from her humble beginnings to earn three academic degrees, go on to be a respected professor at one of the most elite colleges on the West Coast and ultimately to become the first black, female Secretary of State. She is the real deal-smart, talented and unafraid to do the right thing even when it wasn’t popular in the Beltway crowd. She is also an accomplished concert level pianist, and she just paired up with violinist Jenny Oakes Baker to release a stunningly beautiful version of Amazing Grace, with a patriotic themed video, just in time for Independence Day.

So enjoy, and share this with everyone you would like to bring some beauty to this Independence Day.

And let’s remind this nation what a classy Secretary of State looks like.