As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we do more than commemorate the signing of a declaration. We celebrate the greatest political experiment ever undertaken by mankind: a nation founded by our Founding Fathers on the revolutionary idea that our rights come not from government, but from God.

For two and a half centuries, generation after generation of Americans have defended that idea with their blood, their sacrifice, and their unwavering belief that this country is unlike any other on Earth.

They crossed frozen rivers with George Washington. They preserved the Union under Abraham Lincoln. They stormed the beaches of Normandy, liberated Europe from tyranny, defeated communism, and answered the call after September 11. Every generation has inherited freedom, and every generation has been asked to defend it.

Now it is our turn. America is not perfect. It never has been. But perfection has never been our promise. Opportunity has.

Only in America could a first-generation son of Syrian immigrants, born right here in the United States, grow up with nothing more than his parents’ faith in the future, serve as a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer, and one day stand on the floor of the House of Representatives to take the oath as a Member of Congress.

My story is proof that the........

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