It is the pride of my heart to have been one of the earliest

The words of the Marquis de Lafayette—“It is the pride of my heart to have been one of the earliest adopted sons of America.”—shine like a jewel of gratitude and devotion, born of a bond between nations that was forged in fire. Lafayette, though a French nobleman by birth, found his soul bound to the cause of liberty across the Atlantic. He did not come to America for wealth or conquest, but because his heart was seized by the vision of a people daring to be free. His declaration of being an “adopted son” speaks to the deeper truth that patriotism is not always about birthplace, but about shared ideals, about choosing to give one’s life for principles greater than oneself.

At the heart of this saying lies the mystery of chosen allegiance. Lafayette could have remained in France, enjoying privilege and ease. Yet he chose instead to sail to a faraway land, to fight in a war that was not his own by birth. Why? Because the flame of liberty burned within him, and he recognized that the cause of America’s freedom was the cause of humanity itself. When the Americans welcomed him, he became more than an ally; he became family, an “adopted son” whose loyalty was sealed by blood and sacrifice.

History tells the story. Lafayette, still in his early twenties, volunteered to serve without pay in George Washington’s army. He fought at Brandywine, where he was wounded, and yet remained steadfast, inspiring the men around him. Washington, seeing his courage and devotion, grew to love him like a son. Their bond was not of convenience, but of spirit—a symbol of how shared struggle unites beyond all divisions. Lafayette’s pride in being adopted by America was matched by America’s pride in adopting him. Their bond endures as one of the noblest friendships in history.

The significance of Lafayette’s words stretches beyond the Revolution. When he returned to France, he carried with him the spirit of American liberty, becoming a voice for freedom during his own nation’s storms. Though imprisoned, though often caught between monarchs and mobs, he never abandoned the principles he embraced in America. His patriotism transcended borders; it was not confined to one land, but to the universal dream of liberty. Thus, his adoption by America was also an adoption into the greater brotherhood of all who fight for freedom.

The ancients would have understood this. For they taught that the highest citizenship is not of city alone, but of principle. Socrates called himself a citizen of the world, and the Stoics spoke of cosmopolis—the universal city where justice binds all men. Lafayette’s claim of being America’s “adopted son” echoes this wisdom: that true belonging is not of soil alone, but of shared virtue. To live by freedom and to defend it makes one kin, regardless of birthplace.

The lesson for us is clear: patriotism is more than accident of birth; it is a choice of devotion. We may inherit a nation by blood, but we must adopt it by love, by sacrifice, by service. And more still, we must recognize that the struggle for justice in any land binds us to one another. Lafayette teaches us that to love one’s country rightly is also to love the cause of liberty everywhere.

In daily life, this means living as citizens not only of our nation, but of humanity. Serve your country faithfully, but also support freedom beyond your borders. Defend the weak, aid the oppressed, welcome the stranger—these are acts of true patriotism, the kind that honors Lafayette’s legacy. For in doing so, you too become “adopted sons and daughters” of liberty, heirs of a tradition greater than any one land.

Thus let Lafayette’s words echo across the generations: “It is the pride of my heart to have been one of the earliest adopted sons of America.” May we learn from his example that the truest pride is not in privilege, but in service; not in inheritance, but in sacrifice. And may we, like him, live as children of liberty, chosen and choosing, devoted not only to the soil beneath our feet, but to the eternal light of freedom.