Hope of America

This evening Dallin participated in the Hope of America program, a part of the Freedom Festival in Utah County. Each year Utah County (Provo, more particularly) puts on several patriotic events leading up to the 4th of July. Hope of America is a program where 5th-6th graders in Utah County get to participate in a patriotic musical program. Obviously, as the title of the program denotes, these children represent the "hope of America". I have associated with many youth over the course of my career and church responsibilities. Many of these youth have endured trauma that none of us could ever imagine enduring; yet, through it all, they maintain that childlike hope of better days to come. Reality has yet to dampen the silver linings found in the clouds of their innocence. There really is hope in the future. Despite the atrocities that liter the news programs, there are amazing stories of charity and generosity that inspire hope and faith in the people around us. That's what tonight represented for me. No matter what religious or political affiliation one aligns with, there is a light or hope that links all of us together. I look at my own children and can see that light. They all strive for excellence and, because of that, I do have hope in our future.