Matthew McConaughey issued an inspiring and encouraging speech marking the Fourth of July.

Taking to Twitter on Sunday, the Oscar-winning actor celebrated America’s birthday in a heartfelt message about the state of the country.

“Let’s admit that this last year — this trip around the sun — was also another head-scratcher,” said McConaughey, 51. “But let’s also remember that we are babies, you know, as a country.”

“We’re basically going through puberty in comparison to other countries’ timeline, and we’re going to go through growing pains.  We are going through growing pains,” McConaughey continued. “This is not an excuse, to say, this is just the reality.”

McConaughey looked on the bright side of the country’s relatively young age and explained that he views it as an opportunity to grow and learn from the past.

“This is good,” he said. “We gotta keep learning, we gotta keep maturing, we gotta keep striving, we gotta keep climbing, we gotta keep building.” The only way to do that, said McConaughey, is to “maintain hope along the way, as we continue to evolve… Because the alternative sucks.”

“I believe in America,” McConaughey declared. “We’re constantly in motion, we’re on the way trying to get wiser, trying to get braver, trying to dream more, trying to do more, trying to be more fair — take the right kind of responsibilities to gain the right kind of freedoms.”

McConaughey noted people need to be “appreciative and supportive” of the nation’s collective triumphs and evolution, stressing, “We are all in this together.”

“[We’re] on the way to being the best we can be,” he closed. “Why?  Because that’s who we are.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.