"The Public Library of the City of Boston; Built by the People and Dedicated to the Advancement of Learning."

I'm walking in the city this morning and just passed the BPL. Even though I have some complaints about living here, it is sentiment like the above(which is carved into the stone structure of the BPL) that makes me happy to live in this city and in this nation. It is easy to forget the tremendous opportunities available to us as free people. I make it a point to remind myself as often as possible just how fortunate I am in comparison to the majority of other people around the world (even though I still make jokes about being a poor artist, I realize that this is only in relation to the standard of living here).
We are and come from people who chose to risk everything for freedom, for eqality, to live life on their own terms. I am proud of this heritage. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave and I, for one, hope we always remain so.