Consider "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness"

Many nations celebrate an “Independence Day” but there is only one“4th of July,” a phrase recognized throughout most of the world as the day, centuries ago, that a rabble rousing group of upstarts laid down an ultimatum to the ever- powerful Mother country.


Was it smart, well planned or without controversy? No, no and no. Those debating the issue were caught up in personal agendas and many of those who perceived themselves as patriotic leaders were thought by others to be reckless and ill-advised troublemakers.

Maybe it is the age old ignorance is bliss thing because the odds of colonists winning the fight against England were not even close. Ponder for a moment the situation in 1776. The Colonies were a collection of independent and disjointed governmental entities divided in their loyalties and their thinking. No military force existed except that clothed and funded by England. The rebels were undereducated, underfunded, poorly trained and disorganized; England was all that they were not.

The outcome of this rash and irresponsible conspiracy is well known, applauded, and emulated. But what if things had gone differently?

Would we have continued the fight as insurgents? Surely as the nation grew there would have evolved some type of provisional government, perhaps even a peaceful passing of power.

With a mature and seasoned government in power, it is possible that our greatest mistakes as a nation could have been avoided or at least lessened in degree. But, as fate would have it, victory did fall to the colonists and the 4th of July is a day of great celebration, festivity and reflection. But a word to the wise, merriment without memorial tends to produce a mentality of complacency and entitlement.

Historically, not every citizen in America received their independence papers on July 4th, 1776 or when the band played The World Turned Upside Down at Yorktown in 1781. Among others, children, women, blacks and Native Americans would continue to struggle under the yoke of involuntary servitude, economic deprivations and the denial of civil and legal rights as citizens of a country created in the name of freedom and self-determination.

• Slavery was abolished in 1865 (13th Amendment)

• African Americans gained constitutional citizenship in 1868 (14th Amendment)

• African American men gained the constitutional right to vote in 1870 (15th Amendment)

• Women receive the right to vote in 1920 (19th Amendment)

• Labor Laws protecting children were Federally enacted in 1938 (Fair Labor Standards Act)

• Native Americans are granted U.S. citizenship in 1924 ending their exclusion from rights under the 14th Amendment as certain indigenous peoples. (The Citizenship Act of 1924)

Regardless of how long it has taken or what remains to be accomplished, we are a nation of people who hold in high esteem

“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.”

Let us celebrate that!

Until next time, be well.