I choose to celebrate the 4th of July—not necessarily with a barbeque, parade, or fireworks, although they are fine traditions. But by remembering and honoring the principles on which this country was founded.
It is the principles professed in the Declaration of Independence that has served as the core philosophy of the United States for nearly 250 years.
The United States is not a perfect nation and flaws, both current and historical, have been emphasized in these politicized times.
But despite critics’ belittling the notion, the United States is in many ways an exceptional country.
As it has set the framework and uplifted much of the modern world, as it has served as a beacon of liberty, the United States continues to strive to embrace the promises of the Declaration: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
It’s true that faultfinders call America a failed experiment. They only highlight the country’s flaws and ignore the founding document that pledges liberty. But I would urge them to reconsider.
I read a moving piece in The Free Press by Larissa Phillips titled, “I’m Finally Hanging My American Flag,” in which she admitted that she was taught to dislike the American flag and what it stood for until she realized in adulthood that she could see “the value of fighting for the elements of your country that you loved, even as you faced the parts that you found insufferable.”
Mark Twain expressed a similar sentiment: “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it.”
Some of the negative attitude to America comes from the way American history is taught—if it’s taught at all. History is not a one-sided story.
The country has changed greatly from the time the Declaration was written. Some see the potentials of the founding unfulfilled. However, the main principles in the document remain steadfast in the human spirit. The country and the Declaration should not be dismissed or discarded.
There was another time when the country was seriously divided, a time that climaxed in Civil War. Abraham Lincoln based his words and actions in defending the union not on the Constitution, but on the Declaration.
Lincoln called the Declaration of Independence the “immortal emblem of Humanity.” He said, “I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.”
His legendary Gettysburg Address began with nod to the Declaration which brought “a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Lincoln was even attuned to the opposition to the Declaration that has come to the fore today. As he said when running for the U.S. Senate from Illinois: “Now, my countrymen, if you have been taught doctrines conflicting with the great landmarks of the Declaration of Independence; if you have listened to suggestions which would take away from its grandeur, and mutilate the fair symmetry of its proportions; if you have been inclined to believe that all men are not created equal in those inalienable rights enumerated by our chart of liberty, let me entreat you to come back.”
People of different viewpoints and persuasions should all come back to the potential of the Declaration of Independence, to continue fulfilling its promises.
It’s starts with celebrating the 4th of July.
Happy July 4th to all!
Happy 4th!!