Spain
settled St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. The English established Jamestown in
Virginia in 1607. The European exploration and takeover of North America was in
full swing. Yet it took until July 4,1776 for the colonies on the eastern side
of the continent to declare their independence. Two-hundred-fifty years ago
this very day, 211 years after the first
settlements, unless you count the Norse settlements in 1000 CE. It took the
folks a while to catch up with the Age of Reason and embrace the Enlightenment.
The Founders shook the world:
|
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among
Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, |
Can we say today that most of Americans believe that all men are created equal? Can we say that most Americans believe that all men have unalienable rights – Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness? Do most Americans believe their government should derive its just powers from the consent of the governed?
Who you are, where you are, what and where you were may shape an honest response. That friction is why we strive to create a perfect union. Our answers shouldn’t be different. Why don’t we all just look at the idea and shout YES!
A survey by the Public Religion Research Institute indicated that 51% of Americans say they are extremely or very proud of being Americans, down from 82% in 2013.[i] This is serious stuff. (Other recent surveys show that only 60%+/- are positive about the current state of the nation.)
The survey
showed that less than half of those surveyed believe the idea that working hard
gets you ahead. Among 18-29 year-olds, only 36% believe in the “American
Dream.” These are the folks that are going to take us into the next decade or
two. If they lose faith in the greatness of America, how will the experiment survive?
We rely on them to take us along, to meet the new challenges, to innovate, and to
protect the homeland. Will they want to do it if they don’t believe in the
Experiment, in the Dream?
Years ago, a lot of us were taught about the greatness of America in a mix of courses under the general mantle of Social Studies. The rubric was a sanitized version of history designed to make us feel proud of the country, feel patriotic, and want to serve; we were a nation of exceptionalism, the best nation on earth, believe we are the best.
After World War II, we basked in the glory of saving the world from the Axis Powers. We built planes and munition factories, sixteen million men and women joined the armed forces to fight in Europe and Asia and we won. Over four-hundred thousand didn’t come home.
Then we rebuilt Europe. We oversaw the redevelopment of much of Asia. Our rich farm land and natural resources let us feed the world and create a large middle class with good housing, good educations, and good jobs. The text didn’t teach us about segregation, the poverty of Appalachia, the notion of white supremacy even though it was all around us. Those lessons came much later.
Like so many other nations, generational change after generational change, and more change brought periods of growth and prosperity, periods of growth and despair, not so much growth and resistance, and the growth of nationalism that we experience today.
The angst on both sides of the political divide ripples outward, creating rings of concern about what it means to be an American in today’s world. Some try to be overly definitive – of white European descent, unfettered capitalism, conflating Christianity and Americanism, discounting the universal ideals of our founding documents, loss of respect for the role institutions play in the fabric of our culture and society. The more we try to be specific the more we drift from our original intent.
Being American isn’t easy. The last 250 years taught us that. Being American is difficult. It isn’t based on hard and fast rules: tribal identity, bloodlines, religious beliefs or other specifics. It is based on an idea. The only thing that we ask of anyone who is born on our soil or comes to our shores is that they buy into an idea. If you swear allegiance to the idea, you are an American.
New citizens take an oath – “… I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” That’s it. You’re in.
Here is the idea – “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union …” The majesty of those words is overwhelming. They are the scepter we hold on high. It was outrageous thinking at its writing. Governments were the property of kings, emperors, dictators, autocrats, and others with big armies, not we the people. We changed the calculus. But that is the idea. “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” That’s it. Buy into that idea and you are an American.
There is no reason this republic can’t last another 250 years if its population reminds itself from time to time of the great truths and ideals upon which it was founded. The current period of misunderstanding of those ideals will be overthrown even if the incumbent oligarchs aren’t. We are ruled by “We the people” and we will insist of adherence to the ideals as we have so often in the past. The idea of America is stronger than any one cabal.
For two-hundred-fifty years the dream has lived, been tested, and endured. It lures the huddled masses. It makes us want to be free. It is a living idea that we celebrate today.
We consent
to nothing less.
