The dawning of the 4th of July over the Silicon Valley.
Today, the greatest nation on earth celebrates its birthday as a nation. This is one birth that was conceived by choice. The Founding Fathers of this nation consciously and purposefully declared what kind of nation they wanted to see born on this earth. They built it with Faith (“In God, we trust) and based on unchanging principles (such as equality, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness). They have handed down this faith and these principles to the next generations in the stirring and ennobling “Declaration of Independence” which over the years have inspired other revolutions for equality and struggles for liberty.
“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.”
Throughout her history, the US has always lived by and championed this equality of men. As a nation, the US has always striven to do away with discrimination and inequalities based on age, race, creed, color, sex, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, marital status, and socioeconomic status. From the time of the original colonists, fleeing religious persecution in the Old World till today, Americans have been waging one battle after another for equality, whether this be in the arena of public discourse or, when necessary, in the battlefield: the abolition of slavery, the suffragette movement, gender equality, and the current debate on same-sex marriage.
Whenever life is threatened anywhere in this planet, whether by natural calamities or man-made catastrophes, Americans are always the first and the most generous in extending a helping hand. Americans are by far the most generous people on earth.
Whenever anyone’s liberty is threatened, America has always been ready to stand up to all kinds of oppressors. The US has always been the asylum and haven for those persecuted and discriminated against in their home countries. A sign of the strength of this nation is its willingness to give asylum even to those who proclaim and would love to see its downfall and destruction.
The American Dream has become the embodiment of what happiness is for many. Rightly and wrongly, people around the world look to the US for what the good life is and can be. American culture is pervasive almost everywhere.
The US is not without its faults. Many rightly criticize the US for excesses and indiscretions. But for as long as the US celebrates its Faith in God and its unstinting commitment to unchanging principles, as it does every 4th of July; it will always be in the process of becoming what it celebrates.
Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – he then said to the paralytic – “Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.” And he stood up and went to his home. When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.
Matthew 9:1-8