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| Happy birthday America! |
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"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question."
- President Thomas Jefferson
(First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801)
Today marks the 231st birthday of the United States of America. We have our own traditions of celebration here in the United States, including the pomp and pow of fireworks, barbecues with family and friends, and taking time to fix the summer meals. We also would ask you to take a moment to thank the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson among them, for their courage to resist the British in the 1770s. There were some at that time in the American colonies who thought it best to remain in the British Empire. Perhaps colonists thought that given the thousands of miles between the New World and England, that colonists definitely relied on the British ships to supply the colonies with many of their items. But we are glad that Jefferson, James Madison and others had the foresight to say, "No. This is enough. We want to go our own way."
Ours is not a democracy. Ours is a republic, in which we elect citizens to serve us. The trick is to make sure we elect those who are wise and who want to serve the public and the Constitution, not to serve themselves or for a love of power.
Our nation is an experiment in progress. Whether it's campaign finance reform, term limits or ridding the nation of a few inept Presidents in 200-plus years, Americans have the ultimate power to tweak the system. Sometimes, those changes are needed more quickly than at other times, depending on the context of what has been occurring politically. At least we as Americans have these rights: the right to vote, the right to assemble and the right of freedom of speech.
Those who are ignorant of history's lessons will forget that if it had not been for the French, most likely we would have been British colonists for a longer period of time. The British were one of the main superpowers on the planet at that time, but certainly the French were in play as well. So today, we ask that you lift your glass of wine, beer, or soda to not only Jefferson, Madison and other intellectuals of the 18th century, but to our French friends across "the Pond" and everyone else who made our country a reality. |
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