Page 21 - Leisure Living Magazine: July 2020 Edition

What Makes America Great?
Editorial by Christopher McIntire, President, McIntire Retirement Services www.mcintireretirementservices.com
Hello to all of you! We hope everyone is tak- ing care of themselves
and practicing good
safety measures to stay
healthy. I very much enjoy writing, and as our country has expe- rienced some very im- portant issues in 2020, I thought it would be good to reflect on what makes America great.
rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Bill of Rights). They fought the British Em- pire through the War of 1812 (“Don’t Give Up the Ship” reference), a Civil War, two World Wars, Korea, Viet- nam, the War on Ter- rorism...conflicts are nothing new to Amer- icans or any citizen in any country around the
globe for that matter. Cemeteries around the globe are full of young Americans who have given their last full measure of devotion (Gettysburg Address). They gave their lives for freedom’s sake and for those they never knew by the tens of thousands. If you have never seen the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, please do; it is a very moving tribute this country pays to honor the dead so they are not forgotten. It is guarded 24 hours a day through blizzards and hurricanes, folks. “Give me Liberty or Give Me Death” (Pat-
rick Henry at a church in Virginia).
“Freedom is favored by so many; it is paid for
by so few.” I saw this note someone left at the Viet- nam Veterans Memorial twenty years ago and will never forget that moment or that phrase.
It is far too easy to forget the sacrifices that have been paid by others and take them for grant- ed, so please do not. Treating everyone with a bit more kindness and respect and taking a few deep breaths throughout the day can go a long way in keeping life in focus. America will survive; we are better when united for the common good for all. “I Have a Dream,” (Martin Luther King Jr.) and I am going to put all my efforts into achieving it and helping as many of you as I can along the way.
Respectfully yours, Chris McIntire
My wife and I have
started three business-
es, and she is starting
a fourth currently. We
did these through hard
work and a positive atti-
tude. We had an idea, saw a need for what we were offering, and took the chance that we could make it work! There were many hard days and at times you question your sanity (haha).
As we have recently moved past the 66th anni- versary of the D-Day invasion and through Fourth of July celebrations, the history buff in me cannot help but imagine what it must have been like to walk into well-sighted German machine gun fire
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July 2020 LeisureLiving | 21
Celebrate your freedom
Life, liberty and happiness
not know- ing if you were going to be alive at the end of the day. The signers of the Decla- ration of In- dependence put their lives at risk for freedom of speech, religion, and their inalienable