This Journal is the first of 3 Journals celebrating and considering some opinions about the 250th birthday of the United States of America.
A writing by Dr. Ben Carson, M.D., is featured in this Part I.
Dr. Carson is a highly accomplished American, coming from his roots of poverty to pioneer great advances in the field of neurosurgery during his role as Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is well published in this field and is highly acclaimed for his contributions in the neurosurgical field. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008. He was a Republican candidate for President in 2017. He served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021. Currently retired from medical practice at age 75, he now serves as National Advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing.
Here is a biographical resume of this physician and public servant.
Here is his writing about his love of country.
What Makes America Unique
by Dr. Ben Carson, M.D., June 29, 2026, originally published in The Baltimore Sun
“The 250th anniversary of the United States of America is an extraordinary milestone and a moment worthy of celebration, reflection, and gratitude.
What makes America unique is not that we are perfect. We are not. Throughout our history, we have made mistakes, faced divisions, and endured great challenges. Yet despite our imperfections, there remains something exceptional about this nation that continues to inspire people around the world.
America is the only country associated with a dream. Everywhere you go, people understand what it means when someone speaks about the American Dream. They understand it because America has long represented the possibility that your future is determined not by where you start in life, but by what you are willing to work for and become.
That dream exists because of freedom. It exists because of an environment that encourages innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and personal responsibility. It exists because education remains a pathway to opportunity and because individuals are empowered to shape their own destinies.
I know this not simply as an observer, but from personal experience.
I grew up in poverty. The odds were not in my favor. Yet in America, a young boy raised by a determined mother who insisted on education, discipline, and faith was able to become a physician, a neurosurgeon, a medical innovator, a Cabinet secretary, and a candidate for the highest office in the land. That journey would have been difficult to imagine in many parts of the world. In America, it was possible.
My years in medicine reinforced my appreciation for this country. The ability to pursue scientific discovery, develop new surgical techniques, and work alongside brilliant colleagues to save and improve lives is one of the greatest privileges imaginable. Innovation flourishes when people are free to think, create, and challenge conventional wisdom. America has provided that environment for generations.
But freedom and opportunity alone are not enough.
The strength of a nation ultimately depends on the strength of its people, and the strength of its people begins with the strength of its families. Strong communities are built upon strong families. Strong families are built upon values, responsibility, sacrifice, and faith. These are not outdated ideas. They are the foundation stones upon which successful societies are built.
As we celebrate 250 years of American independence, we should ask ourselves an important question: What made this remarkable experiment in self-government succeed?
The answer is found not only in our founding documents but also in the character of our citizens. It is found in a belief in personal responsibility, in a commitment to hard work, in respect for faith and family, and in a willingness to place the interests of future generations above our own immediate desires.
These principles helped build the most prosperous and influential nation in human history. They are also the principles that will determine whether America remains strong for the next 250 years.
Anniversaries are not only about looking back. They are about looking forward.
As we honor those who came before us, let us recommit ourselves to preserving the values that made America exceptional. Let us teach our children not only what this nation has achieved but also what sacrifices were required to achieve it. Let us protect the freedoms that have empowered generations of Americans to pursue their dreams.
Above all, let us remember that gratitude is not merely appreciation for the past. It is stewardship of the future.
This week, we celebrate 250 years of freedom, opportunity, and perseverance. May we learn from our history, cherish our blessings, and work together to build an even brighter future for generations yet to come.
Happy 250th birthday, America. May God continue to bless the United States of America.”
Crestone and Beyond
In our July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence the Founding Fathers put forth the “causes which impel them to the separation.”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
This statement of spiritual belief is a foundational truth of human existence. The 56 delegates who signed the Declaration believed that all people are based
These patriots pledged their very lives and earthly possessions to each other and to the cause of independence from tyranny. They realized that they would be executed as traitors if captured or if the Americans lost the 8 years long war to the British. The colonist patriots persisted via a spiritual faith in their cause.
Quoting James Howard Kunstler from his recent June 29th article It’s All They’ve Got Now we can appreciate, from this very brief encapsulation, some of the hardships suffered by some of the signers of our Declaration of Independence.
“The Revolution 1.0 we celebrate this week was, after all, a nightmarish struggle rife with hardship and loss. Nine signers of the Declaration of Independence died from war-related tribulations. Five were imprisoned and tortured. Twelve had homes ransacked and burned. And then, of course, the military action itself, including travails such as the winter at Valley Forge, the disastrous New York Campaign, and the never-ending logistics crisis, no food, no clothing, no munitions.”
The story and history of our Revolutionary War, the brilliance and spiritual poise of the craftsmen of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, is unparalleled in world history.
The Preamble of the Constitution reads, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
To help form a more perfect Union I quote Cathy Gillespie, a commissioner of America250, which was the recent project to bury a 250 year time capsule on July 4th. The capsule contains artifacts from all 50 states, and will be raised up from its site at Independence Hall in Philadelphia 250 years from now.
She said transmitting America’s spirit and core values to the next generation is urgent.
“We have to start with teaching the fundamentals of our republic. We have to teach the next generation. First of all, the Declaration of Independence was one of the most magnificent documents ever proclaimed, because it was the first to recognize that our rights come from our creator, our rights come from God, that we’re born with our rights, and that the US Constitution was drafted 11 years later to protect those rights, and our US Constitution is still protecting those rights,” Gillespie said.
“So, first we have to teach our next generation those principles, and then they can carry those forward as engaged and empowered and inspired citizens.”
“Our founding principle starts with the fact that we are born with our rights, that our rights come from our creator, that we have unalienable rights that no one can take away.”
“And the other most important principle is that our government exists with the permission of the people. Our government exists by the consent of the governed, and that’s so important and so unique, because so many countries across the world don’t, don’t recognize that fact, in so many countries, people and their freedoms exist with the consent of the government. The government does not exist with the consent of the people. So, we are unique here, we’re exceptional in our country, and it’s those founding principles that make America an exceptional country.”
Cathy Gillespie’s words capture the essence of precious principles given to us by our Founding Fathers; wise spiritual men who were well versed in the history of nations and political systems of the past.
There has never been a country like the United States of America…the greatest country in the history of our planet.
Repeating Dr. Ben Carson’s bottom line wish…”Happy 250th birthday, America. May God continue to bless the United States of America.”
Signing off from Crestone and Beyond
Additional References