On July 4th, we celebrate the 233rd anniversary of the founding of this country – arguably the best on the planet. Yes, we have our flaws: there is a significant gap between richest and poorest; our foreign policy is not always consistent with our stated values; and we often forget the true definition of freedom.
Three years ago, my family moved to the East Coast so my boys could attend a summer program in Baltimore, MD. During the trip, we experienced many things West Coasters don’t very easily. On July 4th, we watched the Independence Day fireworks from the stern of an 1812-era tall ship moored in Baltimore Harbor – we had a glimpse of what Francis Scott Key witnessed , inspiring him to write our national anthem. The next morning, my boys raised the flag over Fort McHenry. One week later, we got a private tour of the University of Virginia (thank you Dan!) and saw where Thomas Jefferson interviewed graduate candidates and learned the meaning of having ‘your back to the fire’. Later that day, we toured Jefferson’s estate, Monticello, and learned about what influenced him as he participated in our Continental Congress and ultimately drafted our Constitution. Then we went back to DC to actually see the document. The boys were awe-struck.
Jefferson was an amazing man; however flawed he was (how could he rationalize being a slave owner and writing the words: “…all men are created equal…”?), I believe he was divinely inspired. The words that created our nation have served us well for 233 years. As I listened to the tour guides, I was thinking: how many of us have the courage Jefferson and his contemporaries displayed in challenging the then greatest nation on earth (Britain) and put their lives, their families, and their fortune on the line for what they believed? How many of us have actually read the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution? How many of us know the meaning? How many of us REALLY embody the words: “A little revolution now and then is a good thing”?
America’s place in the world is changing – this is a natural progression of the evolution of the distribution of wealth, ideas and principals. Many of the changes feel uncomfortable to those of us who came of age in the ‘American Century’ and we fear the dilution of our hegemony as the value of our currency erodes (relative to other currencies), our military supremacy is challenged in ‘asymmetrical conflicts’, and we are forced to confront our own bigotry and intolerance. I work with many whose families arrived here within the last 30 years and who came here with the same hopes for freedom and opportunity that my ancestors sought 8 generations ago. This nation, and our individual lives, becomes richer with each person who takes the oath of citizenship.
We are becoming a less Euro-centric nation and the face of America is changing. This does not mean we have the right to abandon our principals to exclude newer members of our population; nor, does it mean we have the right to be openly hostile to those whose ideas differ from our own. Our founding fathers created institutions that allow for the evolution of our society to influence the evolution of our institutions – we need to have faith in our institutions and the principals upon which they were founded.
Jackson Browne’s anthem “I am a Patriot” sums it up quite nicely for me:
I am a patriot
And I love my county
Because my country is all I know
I want to be with my family
The people who understand me
I've got nowhere else to go
And I ain't no communist
And I ain't no capitalist
And I ain't no socialist
And I ain't no imperialist
And I ain't no democrat
And I ain't no republican
I only know one party
And it is freedom
I am, I am, I am
I am a patriot
And I love my country
Because my county is all I know
This July 4th, let us all remember what our Independence Day is truly about. Happy Birthday America!
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