America celebrates its 239th birthday on the Fourth of July.

Many of us will mark the day with flags and fireworks, at picnics and parades. It’s a wonderful time to share our love of America with friends and family members.

If it’s no trouble, we’d like to invite 15 people to be a part of your red, white and blue festivities. They won’t be eating; in fact, they’ll be there only in spirit and word.

Here are 15 quotations – some lofty, some light – about America, its greatness, and the ideals for which it stands.

“Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in the bonds of fraternal feeling.”
--Abraham Lincoln

“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
--Harry S Truman

“The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.”
--Alexis de Tocqueville

“Suffrage is the pivotal right.”
--Susan B. Anthony

“If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.”
--Ronald Reagan

“If I have to lay an egg for my country, I’ll do it.”
--Bob Hope

“We’ll try to cooperate fully with the IRS, because, as citizens, we feel a strong patriotic duty not to go to jail.”
--Dave Barry

“Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it.”
--Mark Twain

“The cement of this union is the heart-blood of every American.”
--Thomas Jefferson

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
--Nathan Hale

“Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.”
--John Adams

“This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.”
--Theodore Roosevelt

“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
--John F. Kennedy

“Where liberty dwells, there is my country.”
--Benjamin Franklin

“My favorite thing about the United States? Lots of Americans, one America.”
--Val Saintsbury

Sources: brainyquote.com, addictinginfo.org, bustle.com, quotegarden.com, abrahamlincolnonline.com, legendsofamerica.com, goodreads.com