An audacious act that inspired the world

In his poem “Concord Hymn,” Ralph Waldo Emerson contextualized the significance of the American war for independence:

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood,

And fired the shot heard round the world.

Emerson’s words not only commemorate the bravery of our nation’s earliest freedom fighters – they also remind us of how their courage ignited and inspired a global wave of democratic movements. A little more than a year after the American Revolution’s first military battles that Emerson immortalized in verse, the Second Continental Congress adopted and signed the Declaration of Independence – an audacious act that would forever change the world.

The spirit that the founders captured in the Declaration is worth celebrating this weekend. Democracy can be messy. It can elicit passion, elation and despair. It can turn political allies into enemies and help sworn opponents to find common ground. Yet its genius lies in its promise to reflect the will of the people over the long-term.

Throughout the world, since the nation’s earliest days and certainly over the past century, the lessons of the American experience are that the ultimate power rests with the people, and that they alone have the ability to set a country’s direction. That is America’s gift to us all and to those beyond our shores who value, yearn and fight for freedom.

Enjoy the long weekend, and have a safe and healthy Fourth of July.