Happy Birthday, America!
Or What Does it Mean?
America as a Nation is 250 years-old today. That’s not a lot of time in the scheme of things, but for an empire such as ours, it’s a decent run so far. Today we celebrate our great democratic experiment, marked by parades, cookouts, and fireworks.
When I was young, I loved the 4th. Sparklers and Capri Suns gave way to M-80s and beer, but the celebratory spirit was the same. I came to embrace Democracy with the big ‘D’ and the Republic with the big ‘R’, though I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. America was ascendant and worth emulating.
I spent 24-years in the U.S. Marine Corps. That’s most of my adult life and I fought for the country and its ideals—or at least those which I thought they were—those in which I believed, and I served alongside people from all parts of the country and economic demographics and backgrounds. All of us wore the American flag on our shoulder.
What does it mean to be an American? Is it birthright? Is it making your way here and struggling to persevere? Is it military service to prove your worthiness? We teach only certain versions of our history and it’s worth considering how you get an immigrant from a war-torn nation to give a shit about the Liberty Bell or the American Civil War.
This makes me consider the history I learned and how it influenced my choice to serve. There are certain things worth fighting for, such as the eradication of slavery and freedom to the oppressed, but not at the expense of those same people being disenfranchised within their own countries or our own. We must ensure the sum of the cost is worth the victory achieved.
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I believe our politicians long ago lost sight of what this country was established to promote. They certainly don’t risk their own lives and fortunes in defense of it, and I don’t recall meeting a member of a prominent political family on the battlefield during my service. Only a few members of Congress have served. I’m not sure of their families, but I don’t believe it’s many, so it’s worth keeping a few things about July 4th 1776 in perspective.
The fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence literally did so with their lives, so treasonous was the document to the British Crown.
Seventeen lost everything they possessed.
Twelve had their houses burned to the ground.
Nine signatories died of wounds during the American Revolution, five were captured or imprisoned.
Many of their wives and children were mistreated, left destitute, were imprisoned, or even killed.
No signer renounced their pledge to a new Nation. None of them defected to the British, ensuring the future of our country.
Do we still posses that sense of sacrifice to an ideal? To know you’d lose everything, writing a check with your own life to be cashed by others? Is anything like that worth it to people anymore?
Our founders believed so and it makes the 4th of July that much more important.
Enjoy your day.