Long may she wave!
Today is a great day to reflect a bit on this incredible nation of ours. For many people today is just a day off from work, a time to light the grill, chug a few beers, and maybe watch a fireworks display when it gets dark, but this day is oh, so much more! On this day in 1776, our Founding Fathers had the courage to sign a document declaring themselves free from of the tyrannical rule of a far-off King of England. This was a group of brave colonists who just set themselves up against what was then the most powerful country in the world. I wonder if they knew how many years of bloodshed and death it would take before that dream of a brave new world actually became a reality! And yes, I am well aware that the actual signing did not take place on July 4! Most of the delegates actually signed on July 2.
As most people, hopefully, know, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence was Thomas Jefferson; he was well-known for having a way with words so the committee asked him to draft the document.
Jefferson Memorial
Washington, DC
Supposedly John Adams was the one who encouraged Jefferson in this endeavor. An interesting little bit of history about Adams and Jefferson, our second and third Presidents, is that they went from being friends and patriots to bitter political adversaries although they did somewhat reconcile in their later years. They both died on the same day, July 4, 1826. According to the common story, as Adams died, he said, “Jefferson survives,” not knowing that Jefferson had predeceased him by several hours.
In may ways the relationship between Jefferson and Adams summarizes much of the political tension and dichotomy we see in this country to this day. Adams was from Massachusetts and clearly recognized the need for a strong federal government to force thirteen wildly disparate colonies to come together to form the new and struggling nation. Jefferson, on the other hand, was a wealthy landowner from Virginia who did not want to see the federal government subsume the rights of the states. This healthy tension between central government and the individual states continues to this day.
John Adams
Following the end of the Revolutionary War with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the fledgling new nation crafted the Constitution, mostly written by our fourth President, James Madison. The Constitution was ratified in 1788 and became effective in 1789. Our forefathers recognized that they were heading into uncharted territory as they crafted this new governmental charter. They defined a delicate balance among the three branches of the federal government, the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch. They also struck a healthy balance between states’ rights and federal authority.
When I hear people call for the end of the Electoral College, I am saddened at how little they understand about how hard our Founding Fathers worked to ensure that the more populous states could not run roughshod over the smaller states! Our forefathers did not want to see large states like Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts have total control. Likewise, today I would hate to see states like California, New York, and Illinois calling the shots for the rest of us who may not agree with many of their ideas.
So many people today know little or nothing about the amazing history of this country. Our schools have failed us miserably in this regard! At the risk of sounding like the old “when I was your age, I had to walk through three feet of snow to go to school,” I do think past generations learned much more about US History and World History than the young people of today. We had classes on American History, World History, Texas History, and yes, even Civics, in elementary school, high school, and even in college. The majority of people today could probably tell you more about the latest celebrity gossip in People magazine than they could about the Constitution!
Today we tear down historical monuments to past heroes and events just because we don’t agree with the philosophy they represent. There is great danger in trying to judge the past while wearing the rose-colored glasses of today. We simply should not judge the practices and mores of the past by the practices and mores of today. All of human history has been a progression of growth and change. In the same way we should not judge a three-year old who doesn’t know how to do calculus, we also should not judge our ancestors because they perhaps were slave-owners or didn’t allow women to vote. We are all products of the customs and beliefs of our time. Disagreeing with the past does not mean it did not happen.
One of my favorite quotes is “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it,” attributed to the philosopher, George Santayana. We hear people admiring Communism and Socialism and calling for the US to move in this direction, but I doubt that they even know the meanings of those words, let alone some of the history about the world’s experiments with these deadly philosophies!
Sometimes on television on shows like Fox’s Watter’s World, we see people who do not know the answers to simple questions like “Who was our first President,” “Which President freed the slaves,” “Who is our President today,” and so on. While it can be amusing to see people make asses out of themselves, more than that it is truly a sad commentary on just how dumb we are becoming! The other day I mentioned to my husband that I was memorizing the list of all of the Presidents of the US; I got the “look.” “Why are you doing that?” For me it ties me into our history. Try this exercise yourself! The first ten and the last fifteen or so are pretty easy. It is the less famous group of guys in the middle that are tougher, the somber dudes with the big mutton-chop mustaches and sideburns.
As you head out to light the grill today, I would entreat you to also pay a little attention to the remarkable history of this great country and to what it really represents to the rest of the world! That’s why we celebrate the Fourth of July!
Happy Birthday, America! May you long be a shining beacon to the rest of the world!
©The Eclectic Grandma, 2018
