As I See It / July 2005
The Fifth of July
Americans love to show their colors.
On the Fourth of July, a tide of red, white and blue will splash over the country in a rousing celebration of our national birthday. The Stars and Stripes will ripple more grandly and the sun will shine on them more brightly because it’s Independence Day.
Could those men, the Continental Congress of 229 years ago, have had an inkling of what this nation would become? That thirteen
states would become fifty? That a population
of 2.5 million would multiply to 291 million? That the new republic of 890 thousand
square miles would one day cover over 3.7 million square miles, encompassing not only magnificent mountain ranges, spectacular forests and an astounding Grand Canyon, but also glaciers and live volcanoes?
Could they have foreseen the death of over 500,000 of their fellow country men and the near destruction of their achievement in a Civil War? Could they have imagined the industrial and technical advances that led to “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”?
Riding horseback, armed with muskets, could they have envisioned a war spanning Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, with assembly lines of women welding sheet metal to produce air planes that flew hundreds of miles in the air? In their hearts, did they comprehend that women deserved and would eventually claim the same inalienable rights they affirmed for themselves?
Well over two hundred years later, the exhilaration of independence has been tempered
by the weighty reality of responsibility.
Like historic New England homes that have endured fires, battles, storms and yuppie renovation, America still stands - damaged but rebuilt, battered, yet renewed, etched and burned but more valuable and more deeply cherished for the experience.
There is so much to justify our pride in America. This expansively beautiful, incredibly
diverse land is the home of freedom, democracy and the open exchange of ideas. It is filled with smart, good, generous
people.
We should celebrate and honor it in full measure on the Fourth of July. But, after the fireworks
and festivities, it will be time to return to resume our civic duty, sustaining what we know to be good here and doing everything
in our power to repair what we know is wrong. The fifth of July is when we show our true colors.
The surest sign of American patriotism is commitment to the dignity and rights of every person and every child in this land. The United States of America has fulfilled
the founding fathers’ vision of a free society only through tremendous
sacrifices and the deaths of thousands. The men and women who gave their spirit and lives in the cause of freedom, acted from passionate purpose not petty belligerence.
Their choices sprang from a sense of justice, not smug superiority. The “real Americans” are those who value life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone, not just themselves.
The key to greatness for our country, our citizens and our future is knowledge. Every American should have access to the education and information that will allow them to be valued, contributing members of a free society. Tyranny and fear thrive on ignorance. A little ignorance goes a long way, and can do a great deal of harm. A lot of ignorance, like a plague, destroys all that it touches. Instead of “Get more” we need to “Know more”.
Albert Einstein believed, “Religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward enabling man’s life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.”
Climbing that tree higher and higher is, and should always be, the American way. PL
Copyright © 2005-2006 A Woman's View. All rights reserved.
Femme Fair 2006
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