America: Our Old Oak Tree
By Audra Otto
Harmony, MN
Two and a half centuries, 91,250 days, times of victory and times of trouble, yet one country through it all, bending but never breaking. How does a country instituted by farmers and soldiers with a government the likes of which the world had never seen not only survive 250 years, but thrive throughout that span?
Crowning the center of our yard is a stately old oak tree, now about 250 years old. It was once a sapling, growing along with the newly christened Unit¬ed States of America. Although both our country and our oak tree have gone through tremendous growth within the subsequent centuries, the true reason for the flourishing lies under¬neath.
When storms come, the oak branches sway, but the trunk never moves. It is held steady by unseen roots, reaching deep underground and anchoring the tree. America’s founding fathers knew what the deepest root of their new country was going to be: the people. The people that cared so much about each other and their freedom that they took up arms against a Goliath of a tyrant and won.
The same is still true today: every single American citizen is an essential root, anchoring us to the reality of what made this country great in the first place. Taking care of the roots – protecting the life, liberty and happiness of every person who calls America home – will enable our “old oak” of a nation to grow sky high while never losing sight of what holds the tree secure.
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