Happy 4th of July to all my American friends!

I thought about writing a new version of the Star Spangled Banner in the style of what I did for the Woman Not Waiting Canadian National Anthem, but it’s really not my place to do so (and it’s a lot longer than O Canada! complete with high notes this Céline Dion never-be would not dare attempt).

Instead, I wish to honour (whoops! honor) my fellow Stewards to the south who are waving their stripes and stars today “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave”.

So here is my call to the brave…

… the brave who refuse to condemn this generation “and future generations to a planet that’s beyond fixing”.
… the brave who do “not pause for partisan gridlock”.
… the brave who know that we can “protect our environment and promote economic growth at the same time”.
… the brave who realize that “we can’t just drill our way out of the energy and climate challenge that we face”.
… the brave who accept “that we have to all shoulder the responsibility for keeping the planet habitable, or we’re going to suffer the consequences — together…”
… the brave who “don’t have much patience for anyone who denies that this challenge is real”.
… the brave who “don’t have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society”. (love it)
… the brave who demand that those “in positions of power are elected not just to serve as custodians of the present, but as caretakers of the future”.
… the brave who understand that “Our progress here will be measured differently — in crises averted, in a planet preserved”.
… the brave who are “less concerned with the judgment of special interests and well-connected donors, and more concerned with the judgment of posterity”.
… the brave who recognize that “if we can come together and get this right, we can define a sustainable future”.
… the brave who call “for Congress to end the tax breaks for big oil companies, and invest in the clean-energy companies that will fuel our future”.

and to the bravest hearts of all,

…  the brave who see that “we can do all of that as long as we don’t fear the future; instead we seize it”.

Now sing by the dawn’s early light
And stand through the perilous fight
To shine through the mists of the deep
And echo over the towering steep

Celebrate with gratitude today my dear Stewards. And tomorrow, let’s put on our sexiest pair of shoes, strut forward, and kick up some dirt.

P.S. Thank you President Obama for the brave quotes in your June 25th, 2013 Climate Change Speech: “We Need to Act”.