Celebrating the United States of America
I’m a half and hour late as I begin writing this, but I really want to post a few thoughts I’ve had running around my head this Independence Day. I hope you don’t mind my tardiness.
Today we celebrate the happy accident that was the creation of the United States of America as an independent nation, sovereign apart from Great Britain. I call this a happy accident because such an event had never happened in the history of the world. Was there any who could have foreseen from the outset that the colonies of Great Britain in the new world would one day up and decide that they could hold their own as an independent nation? Going even further, did any have the idea that these colonies would take their independence by force, putting their ill trained army against what could have been argued as the greatest military force of that age?
Some would argue that the creation of the United States as a new nation was not an accident and that independence was destiny. This sort of aggrandized thinking has fueled our political rhetoric and has pushed the growth of the nation from 13 colonies, to 50 by way of manifest destiny; a doctrine very connected with the idea that independence was predestined from God so that it should spread from one ocean to the other. Time and time again, we expanded our borders through the sacrifice of treasure and lives.
We are never finished. The signers of the Declaration of Independence knew that the act of signing would only be one step. The framers of the Constitution knew that their system of Government was not perfect, clearly stating that their goal was to create a “more perfect union”. As we move forward and face new challenges and gain a greater understanding of who we are and what out place is in the world, we must continually make needed sacrifices in order to abide by the destiny we accepted on July 4th, 1776.
I don’t think anyone would argue that we are living in a time where our decisions will have an extremely significant impact on our future. But then again, why should there be any argument about this? Every age has had its challenges to overcome. Over and over again we have accepted these challenges, and have overcome. I believe that we will overcome the challenges we face now. Through sacrifice and innovation, we can find acceptable solutions that will propel us to whatever future challenges our destiny as a nation holds. It’s a never ending cycle. We’ll never be a perfect union, but each decision we make as a nation should lead us to be more perfected. The failure to act and improve will be our only stumbling stone in our attempts to achieve this goal.
For something that shouldn’t of happened, the outcome of this accident has transformed the world, and I am grateful to have the privilege of being a citizen of this great nation.
Happy Independence Day
Also Read:
Don’t Tread on Me at Mike’s Doc Blog
McCain and Obama on Patriotism at Time Magazine
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