A Veterans Thoughts

By Ski Ingram

July 2026

I believe that God inspired Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. I also believe that God inspired our forefathers as they worked to write our Constitution, which is like no other on earth. This is why America is able to celebrate its 250th year of exceptionalism.

I am a combat veteran and a retired police officer. Like many of you I have risked my life many times to defend our Constitution and our way of life. Using my training and experience, I’ll explain why I believe America is an exceptional place in which to live and raise a family. America was built on the lofty principle that all men are created equal and that they have certain rights given to them by God. Because these rights are God-given, man cannot take them away, a completely new concept at the time. In every other civilization, citizens’ rights came from man, such as a king or dictator.

Another new concept was the idea of limited government. The rights guaranteed by God are “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Americans are free to pursue happiness because their government was limited. History has shown that when a single monarch, dictator or political group has complete power, personal rights and freedoms are always diminished then ultimately taken away completely.

Another concept unique to America is the idea of equal justice under the law. Our founders were not thinking of social justice as many do today. They did not expect that everyone should be equal in wealth or social status because they knew that everyone had different talents and opportunities in life. Nothing was guaranteed except your right to pursue your ambitions and your happiness.

Traveling to Mt. Rushmore in South Dekota, you will see four of our greatest American presidents. They should remind us all how exceptional America has been for 250 years. The four faces on the mountain are, from left to right: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Washington, the father of our country, was a man the Lord spared from death during the many battles he was in. He had horses shot out from under him. He had bullet holes shot though his tunic, but not into his body. As a young man he contracted many disease among them, tuberculosis, diphtheria, dysentery, smallpox, malaria, and pneumonia. Just one of these diseases was a death sentence, but Washington was saved by the hand of God.

Thomas Jefferson was inspired to write these famous words, “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.”

Abraham Lincoln was the perfect man to save the union. He was a God-fearing man saved by the Lord to serve at that time. He was blessed by God with the vision needed during one of America’s darkest times,

Theodore Roosevelt wrote these words, “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in that gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” These words sum up the reasons America is exceptional, that freedom is not free, you have to work at it. Men and women are free to dream and then succeed in whatever they choose.

Our Constitution is exceptional. It gives us all the opportunity to succeed or fail. Americans have been given the wonderful gift of freedom. It is up to us to preserve it for future generations. Benjamin Franklin summed up this idea when a woman asked him,” Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”  He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” We may never understand the price patriots paid for our freedom. Now is the time, for all freedom loving people, to save it.

Ski Ingram is a combat veteran and a patriot who can be reached at:  www.Skiingram.com