The 4th of July
George Stahl
The 4th of July, 1776, is not the only day America was born. We have gone through the pangs of being reborn several times in 248 years. After the Revolutionary War it wasn’t all roses for the new nation. There were large monetary debts hanging over our heads, families were mourning the loss of loved ones, and men who went back to their families after eight long years of fighting and death needed to readjust to the lives they left behind.
The Constitution and the truths in the Declaration of Independence were not afforded to everyone. The war with Britain did not settle the domestic problems in the colonies, and it did not end tyranny for all 2.5 million people living in them. Their fight had just begun. The next 10 years were rocky at best. The first rebirth of America took place in 1787 when a new Constitution was drawn up giving the federal government more power over the states. The idea here was to ensure that groups like former slaves and women would see their rights as well. This was not the magic pill, however. The mindset of the average person was still in a world of pre-revolution.
The second rebirth came in 1791 when the first 10 amendments were added to the Constitution, called the Bill of Rights. This was an attempt to help clarify and enforce the ideas of both the original and second Constitution. Since then, 17 more amendments have been ratified by congress and added to the Constitution for a total of 27 amendments over the life of the Constitution.
The third time America was shaken up was in 1920 when the 19th of these 27 amendments was ratified. It gave women the right to vote. With this change came new ideas, new morals, and new ways of living in what had been prior to this, a man’s world.
The pains of a fourth rebirth came out of another fight. In 1941 the Japanese destroyed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack took the islands off guard and over 3,000 men, women and children were killed. America was thrust back into a time of blood and grief and war. Once again, we were fighting for our freedom. In 1945, to end the war that enveloped the whole world, America struggled with her conscience and death won out. In August of that year, America dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan. Those two days changed America and the world forever.
The fifth rebirth of our nation came on Sept. 11, 2001. The first two planes hit the Twin Towers in Manhattan in the early morning, destroying the massive buildings along with thousands of people inside of them and on the planes. A third plane crashed into the side of the Pentagon. Fifty-eight passengers and crew along with 127 people in the building died. Then a fourth plane carrying 49 passengers was on its way to the White House, the passengers on board this plane would not have it. They forced the jetliner crashing into a field in Pennsylvania, killing everyone on board. “Our people are strong. A great people have been moved to defend a great nation …,” said President George W. Bush. It was also the day we were born once again, literally rising out of the ashes and declaring war on terrorists all around the world.
Over the years we have seen many rebirths. We celebrate the 4th of July as being the birth of our America, but it is more like a chain of rebirths and reuniting. After each rebirth, we have come closer as a nation and as individuals. We have been reintroduced to the greatest country on the planet, and each time we have emerged stronger under the flag of our liberty and freedom that flies over all of our heads. We have the role of parents to this ever-changing, growing nation, and as her parents have to tend to her, care for her, and love her. As her parents we also show her respect and be there for her when she falls, and rejoice with her when she succeeds. So, this 4th of July before you eat that hot dog, hamburger, or potato salad, please take a moment to look at our flag and whisper, “Thank you …” to the men and women who fought, died, and lived for her.
Happy 4th of July, and God Bless America!
This Country of Ours
Lee Murray
At this time of year, between Memorial Day, when we think of fallen soldiers who selflessly gave their lives in service for their country and the 4th of July when we celebrate our nation’s independence from the tyrannical rule of Great Britain’s King George III, we have much about which to reflect.
We’ve been through a lot, this country of ours, in the nearly two and a half centuries since what revolutionary leader George Washington called the “great experiment” came to be.
From the bloody war for independence through to the present, our nation has endured. We’ve been through two world wars, a war between the states, a great depression, pestilence and pandemics, droughts, and disasters. Through it all, the United States has continued to survive and prosper.
Never without its critics both foreign and domestic, our country has continued to prove the naysayers wrong who said we couldn’t or wouldn’t survive. Yet we not only survived but thrived.
We have a Constitution that is the envy of the world, freedoms that millions of people elsewhere can only dream about, and a beacon of hope to immigrants from distant shores seeking a better life. The United States has always been a welcoming and generous country, consistently offering a helping hand to citizens in need and to other nations in their time of adversity.
Though we have often been the object of scorn and criticism from even our own citizens, the document generated by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and others recorded on parchment and ratified in 1787 has been a guiding light for our country’s incredible success and longevity.
Are we perfect? Of course not. No nation is but we’ve made amends to those we’ve harmed and implemented constitutional changes over the years to make our imperfect nation the best we can be.
Pilgrim John Winthrop sermonized in 1630 about the “shining city on a hill” from which Ronald Reagan waxed so eloquently in his speeches over a century later. Reagan spoke of a strong city, a place of hope for people seeking to be free.
It was the hope of our Founding Fathers and that of our leaders today that, despite any political differences that may divide us, we will continue to pull together and unite as one. Not as members of any political party, church affiliation, or civic organization, but as Americans. It is our people, with their unending belief in American exceptionalism and faith in our republic established over two centuries ago that always has and always will make the United States of America the greatest country in the world.