Reflections on the USA's 250th
What an incredible accomplishment, and an auspicious commemoration: 250 years, a quarter of a millennium. From the humble beginnings of a newly formed nation, the United States of America has grown into an enduring force in the history of the world. As I think about what this celebration means for me, for the nation, and for my children, three themes stand out. All three harken back to that original July 4th, 1776. They were essential to the founding of this country, and they remain essential to its continued success. They are audacity, youth, and responsibility.
Audacity
The American experiment was anything but inevitable. Its ideals ran counter to millennia of human experience. The founders drew on a long inheritance of Western political and philosophical thought, but they borrowed and extended it into something new. Their experiment in self-government was nothing short of audacious.
There was no blueprint to borrow from. They declared their independence and set upon a thrilling experiment: a government that would not merely survive their own lives but endure for generations. Their brilliance showed in how they negotiated the thorny problems of building a nation. Their genius produced the separation of powers, three co-equal branches of government, and a framework designed to balance the competing interests of a whole people — landowners, merchants, bankers, and citizens of every occupation. By debate and compromise, they arrived at a beautiful form of government.
Their ideals were grand — grander, some might credibly argue, than their immediate ability to realize them. But they built a flexible framework, one that gave America a path to be continually rejuvenated and reimagined, so that later generations could make their own adjustments and, in the words of the Constitution’s preamble, “form a more perfect union.”
One can scarcely imagine how spectacularly radical these ideas were in their time. Like asking a fish to describe the feeling of wet, Americans born into this system struggle to see how special it is. The freedoms and rights we enjoy can seem unremarkable, even mundane. This is one of the quiet gifts of American immigration: it brings in people whose lives elsewhere have taught them to appreciate and love this land for all that it represents. In 1776, by contrast, these ideas were understood to be radical. Their revolutionary nature stretched the comprehension and confidence of even the founders themselves. The mental shift required to conceive of a nation governed by its own sovereign citizens was immense. Even Jefferson — the brilliant mind who penned the Declaration of Independence — first wrote “fellow subjects” on that very document before editing the words to read “fellow citizens.”
Do not forget their audacity. We need that same audacious spirit to become a greater nation still — to grow into the fullness of the vision those founders held for this country.
Youth
It is remarkable how young many of the Founding Fathers were in 1776, and through the events that would follow. This was not a movement led by grey-haired, reputable elders. There was a vigor in these young men, willing to risk life, reputation, and property in the pursuit of a new nation. Perhaps only with the young so deeply involved could this fledgling idea of a nation be conceived and born.
On the day independence was declared, several of the Founding Fathers were strikingly young: the Marquis de Lafayette, 18; Alexander Hamilton, 19 or 21 (his birth year is disputed); Aaron Burr, 20; James McHenry, 22; James Madison, 25; Henry Knox, 25; and John Jay, 30.
One of the illnesses of the modern era is the growing rule of the gerontocracy. We must develop greater respect for the opinions and resolve of our young adults, and trust that — despite their youth, or perhaps because of it — they carry an insight that can be a powerful force for change. Even naïveté can be an asset as readily as a liability.
A byproduct of modern longevity is that influence and money now accumulate to the elderly more than in centuries past. That balance should tilt further toward younger adults. Change is hard for the old. There is an adage that science advances one funeral at a time: consensus views rarely bend, and it is often the natural turnover of generations that lets a culture adapt. The young also hold a different relationship with risk, and this matters. A nation cannot rest on its laurels. Risk permits loss, but loss is the necessary complement to reward; many of the greatest rewards are unlocked only by confronting risky ventures. Where the old carry a bias toward preservation, the young carry a bias toward progress and renovation.
I want my three young boys never to despise their youth, but to see it for the asset it is: take chances, challenge the existing structures, build new institutions. Not out of pride or vain ambition, but in service to your fellow man and your Creator.
Responsibility
The Founding Fathers were a deeply religious group. They understood that their work had to be in service of virtue and of God. The rights granted to American citizens would come with commensurate responsibilities — moral duties to be cultivated, not merely privileges to be enjoyed.
We live in a time when many people look to what they can receive, and neglect the obligations that receiving help and fortune imposes on them. We were granted rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Notice the pursuit of happiness. Ours is the responsibility to strive and work toward the outcomes we desire.
This nation and its independence were purchased with blood, and preserved, generation after generation, by others who risked life and limb and gave of their time and talent. They made those sacrifices for their fellows and for their descendants. We inherit the legacy, but we cannot simply consume the blessing; we must protect and renew it through sacrifices of our own. That is the charge we have been entrusted with — to preserve and improve this nation for the generations who will come after. These are the deep and sacred responsibilities of citizenship.