Happy Independence Day!
We are going to take a little breather from Charitable Nation today, but will return next week with thoughts about the formation and implementation of the “Philanthropic Business Plan.” Stay tuned!
In the meantime, let’s reflect a bit on the 4th of July, a thrillingly happy, colorful and somewhat loud event across this great land of ours. July 4th also happens to be my big sister’s birthday and, naïve child that I was, way back when I thought all of the hoopla existed just to commemorate her birthday!
Let’s take a moment from our barbeque, beach blanket and fireworks celebrations to contemplate the bigger picture and the real reason for our celebration (aside from my sister’s birthday) – at its core, the 4th of July commemorates not only the symbolic birth of our nation but also the more important event that precipitated it all – the signing of the Declaration of Independence, one of the most radical and audacious historical documents of all time. These days, we take its goals for granted but back then, well, let’s just say that they had not yet reached the status of “conventional wisdom.” In fact, there was this one little inconvenient inconsistency of slavery versus freedom which, about 85 years later, came close to tearing the nation apart. It’s hard to believe, but the grand experiment in democracy came close to not making it and it was only at a huge cost in terms of human suffering, death, and economic deprivation that the Union ended up prevailing. Unfortunately, this struggle is not over yet. As our history since the Civil War has shown, the parameters of the fight may have shifted but the war for equal human and civil rights continues, with both some stunning victories and distressing setbacks. Nevertheless, despite our many faults, I believe that the good old USA still represents the world’s best chance for winning that war, and boy, am I glad we survived to fight it!
Happy Birthday, America! 238 years young today!
