July 4, 2023…Independence Day…July 4, 1776…days of deep meaning and an opportunity for reflection. As someone who has spent the majority of my life studying the history of the United States, it is impossible for me to let this day pass without contemplation, and perhaps some exhortation.
July 4, 1776 was a day when 56 representatives of the various British colonies in North America pledged their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” in the cause of self-government. After all, the policy of the British Parliament had allowed for the colonies to be mostly self-governing. But this day was the culmination of a series of actions and edicts against the colonies over a number of years. Many of those actions and edicts were intended to impact that tradition of self-government and to curtail it in the future. The vote for independence was not lightly entered for all knew the potential penalty for affixing their signatures to the proposed document. And many did pay a steep price for this act of rebellion.
In the 247 years since the Declaration of Independence was issued, many more have paid a price to preserve the experiment in self-government. Some paid a personal price, some paid a political price, and some paid the ultimate price. Yet some people continue to discount the sacrifices of the past and those efforts to create a “more perfect union”. They only focus on the failures and shortcomings of imperfect humans and discount all of the past efforts. I would encourage a shift in focus from the missteps to the expansions of liberty and from the errors to achieving the ultimate goal – that more perfect union.
As citizens of the United States we have a daunting task before us: to preserve and expand liberty and self-government. That will always be under attack from authoritarians on all levels and from those who believe that “safety” is more important than freedom. We always need to remember that one of the hallmarks of freedom is personal responsibility. One cannot truly exist without the other.
Let us call to mind the charge of John Adams on this Independence Day as a way to remember past sacrifices. “[Independence Day] will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. … It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means….” (from a letter to Abigail Adams)
