July 4, 2023

As we begin our traditional celebration of our nation’s birth, perhaps it would be a good time to reflect on why this day should always be one of proud celebration. It is more than hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelons, and fireworks. It is a time to remember the reasons why we celebrate our freedoms and independence. These freedoms were hard fought and require vigilance if they are to be protected.

We all are consumed by the politics of the day. To listen to the various sides of the argument you would think that the end was near and that this current adversity was of such significance that we could never survive. While I hold that the times are critical and our democracy is threatened, we have been here before. Imagine the fractures within our citizenry of the eighteenth century. There was a longing for the security of the motherland but also the temptations of independence.

This country has seen the founding period and the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, World War I, the New Deal, World War II, the Civil Rights Era, the Cold War, the Reagan Revolution, and whatever we end up calling this current debacle.

We have seen a recent erosion of our freedoms in the name of a religious resurgence tainted by obscene greed. Hopefully, we will again find a way through where our freedoms are protected, but not in some backhanded way. We should emerge better for having waged the fight by making a course correction that doesn’t sink the ship.

I, for one, have faith in our democracy. We need to find once again our shared national identity. As Americans, we are all brothers and sisters in a proud but dysfunctional family. Every person within our borders had ancestors who came from somewhere else. Even the indigenous peoples crossed a Landbridge to get here.

We are all but visitors living on a common landmass with a human need to not only survive but survive well. For those of you who believe in the Bible, perhaps it is time to reread that good book to find its true meaning and message once again. That would hold true for other religions as well. For those with no commitment to religion, you are hopefully guided by the human trait of compassion for others.

So, on this our nation’s birthday, perhaps it is time to reflect on our history, find common ground to salvage our democracy and understand that we are all Americans. All other labels are of lesser importance if they warrant any validity at all. The graphic accompanying this article shows a tattered flag. It would be disrespectful to fly such a flag. It should be taken down to make proper repairs. Our country and its founding democracy deserve the same treatment.

Benjamin Franklin: "Where liberty dwells, there is my country."