As an American born to 3rd generation German and 1st generation Irish Immigrants, today I celebrate the July 4th Independence Day of the United States.
Today I honor and re-member the passion and self-sacrifice of a collection of people coming together to achieve freedom and self-governance from an oppressive monarchy nearly 250 years ago.
This struggle also gave birth to a comprehensive and fundamental recognition of individual liberties, freedom and self-potential of any civilization to date – The U.S. Constitution and The Bill of Rights. For the first time in history (to my knowledge), both citizens and government pledged allegiance to protect and uphold the principles and tenants of those 2 documents, rather than swearing fealty to a Royal or ruling power.
History has since proven that this new Nation, ruled by these foundational principles, became a beacon of hope and opportunity and prosperity for the world.
This is what I honor and celebrate today.
Looking forward, I also recognize that my government has been slipping away from protecting and upholding the founding principles I grew to cherish throughout my life. I am often ashamed by what I seen happening over the last 50 years as do many of my fellow Americans. It is beyond the scope of this writing to expound on all of that here today, yet you can be certain that many across the United States share my concerns deeply. So today I reflect on the good things that our July 4th celebrations represent in spirit and ideals.
Note: Of course I recognize that the founding and expansion of this nation wasn’t without its flaws and human atrocities. That is also beyond the scope of this post. Suffice it to say, this is a broader reality of the human condition and our proclivities to indulge in greed, power and conquest. Certainly not unique to any one nation or civilization. No country on earth was forged without pain, suffering and crimes of humanity inflicted upon the innocent and weak among us. So let’s leave all that aside for today.
We cannot change the past, we can only learn from it and improve going forward from this moment onwards.
Perhaps this is why I’m drawn to Our GCR. It represents what I love and cherish about the personal freedoms and liberties embodied in those founding documents centuries ago.
Happy July 4th America!
