History Is the Teacher We All Need

Did you know approximately 191 countries celebrate an Independence Day of some sort? The people of each country celebrate moving from what they were to what they want to become. How the day is celebrated, why, and when, is expectedly context-driven. A common theme across all of these countries seems to suggest an interest in becoming something new, something more, as if stating, "Today I am something new, and therefore different from yesterday."

The United States is not unique in celebrating independence. What makes us unique is the history that led to our independence and the work required to maintain it.

In the United States of America, people associate July 4th with the separation from Great Britain, fireworks big and small, our national anthem titled, The Star-Spangled Banner, gatherings of friends and family over food and games, and waving the Flag itself.

That very simple explanation of our July 4th holiday leaves out the time, blood, sweat, pain, tears, and sacrifice that led to our independence. It also overlooks the continual, never-ending efforts and sacrifices of people who fight for our ongoing independence and right to become more day after day, year after year.

To become a country is a continuous effort.

To remain a country is also a continuous effort.

July 4th is designed to celebrate the fact that we are an independent, self-governing country built upon a unique set of principles. Independence Day is also designed to help us remember what it cost to get here.

Consider the following aspects of our history:

The United States of America is 244 years old. However, the history of people seeking to become more than they were is much longer.

• The Kingdom of England was formed in 927 AD.
• The Kingdom of Wales was formed in 1056.
• England and Wales joined in 1536 to form Britain.
• England and Scotland joined in 1707 to form Great Britain.
• The Continental Congress voted in favor of independence from Great Britain on July 2nd, 1776. Followed by delegates from each of the 13 colonies thereafter adopting the Declaration of Independence two days later on July 4th, 1776.
• The Articles of Confederation (version 1.0) were adopted in 1777.
• The United States Constitution (version 2.0) was signed into law in 1787.
• The first government started in 1789.
• As of this writing, since 1787, there have been 27 amendments to the United States Constitution. The first 10 of 27 amendments are the Bill of Rights, enabling explicit rights for all people. Those rights were expanded in the subsequent 17 amendments.
• Since 1789, there have been so many U.S. and State statutes, resolutions, regulations, case law instances, etc., that there appears to be no hard and fast, indisputably known count. In other words, our legal system is continually evolving; it seems to be changing so frequently that we may not fully grasp the measure.
• Since 1789, there have been 116 Congressional sessions.
• Since 1789, there have been nearly 2000 Senators, approximately 12,348 Representatives, and 44 Presidents.

What appears to be constant is the multi-generational pursuit of opportunity. Since England's formation in 927 AD, people have never stopped trying to become more than they were yesterday. And we see the same behaviors since the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The United States is a 244-year-old, very large, complicated, sometimes bloody experiment focused upon forming and evolving a country, government, legal system, and imperfect people towards realizing the original words and intent of our country Founders.

"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."

Compared to Greek, Japanese, Armenian, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Ethiopian, Egyptian, and many other ancient cultures and histories, the United States of America is very young in our journey to become something more. We have a long road in front of us on the path of doing something no one else has done before -- enabling Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness for all people who want to be a part of this country.

To realize the vision our Founding Fathers had in mind, we have to do it together. That includes understanding our history so that we don't waste lives and time repeating it, participate in our present and future in service to this country and her people, make decisions together, make mistakes together, and take responsibility together.

We are not defined by our last five minutes. We are defined by the minutes we've not yet lived. And we are defined by doing it all together.