Contemplating the United States at 250

At what ended up being my only 'real' graduation in June 1976, I received a certificate - and the first $100 bill I'd ever seen - from the local American Legion for being the 'best' or 'one of the best' history students in my class. I was proud, my Dad being my history teacher and all - and also shocked, as I had no idea it was coming. 

I share my graduation story not to toot my own horn; rather, I admit that, like many people, I've forgotten more of our country's history than I remember. How bad are things? 

According to a Cato Institute poll, "nearly half (46%) of Americans don’t know what America’s 250th anniversary commemorates. A little more than half (53%) correctly answered that it was the adoption of the Declaration of Independence." 

That's why it was so much fun to stumble on the Time Magazine Special 1776 Issue tucked in with some of my Dad's papers. According to Henry Grunwald, then Time's managing editor, the issue was "an attempt to reconstruct, with the tools of both history and journalism, and in our distinctive newsmagazine format, at least part of the life and soul of the events that gave birth to our nation." The issue was dated July 4, 1776.

Here are a few examples of what it covered.

• New Yorkers tearing down a statue of King George III on horseback, cutting off (and shooting) his head, and carrying it off, after having heard a reading of the Declaration of Independence; the statue was later used to make ammunition for the war effort. Resistance? Yeah, it's in our blood.
• A discussion of who in each state is allowed to vote, or more importantly, who isn't, including variables such as no Papists (Maryland) or Jews (NY), people who don't own property (12 states), or people who couldn't afford to pay for the privilege. That last part, having to pay to vote? Discouraged then, and illegal now, with poll taxes banned, even as we look at 'unofficially' implementing some if the Save America Act becomes law.
• Thomas Paine's condemnation of King George as "the greatest enemy this continent hath," echoed today by the varied condemnations coming directly from the White House almost daily, and from each party's followers to the other's, as the need arises.
• Some background on John Hancock, owner of the largest and most prominent signature on the Declaration; he was "one of the richest men in the Colonies and one of those most adored by the crowds. He is also one of the vainest." Remind you of anyone these days, a man with a giant signature, tons of wealth (growing every day), and so vain he had his name slapped on a living memorial to another person? 
• How the states created their own constitutions, filled with similarities - and differences, too. That continues today; regulation, taxation, education, social benefits, wages and pensions, and more are handled differently. Heck, in some states individuals can collect a bounty for spying on, and telling on, their neighbors, something that would never happen in other states.
• Concerns about the young nation's finances, including the shocking $15,000,000 debt of the Continental Congress; a trade deficit with England - and a trade surplus with the rest of the world; concerns about whether economic independence could be achieved without establishing a 'manufacturing society;' and the threats from inflation, caused in part by the costs of war. Is this "like Deja vu all over again," as Yogi Berra said? 
• Smallpox and whether or not inoculating soldiers was a good idea. Boston's leading physician, we're told, thought that inoculation was an 'infatuation' and a 'heathen' treatment. General Washington banned inoculation of soldiers (even as he ordered it for his wife) out of respect for the differing opinions of the states; he even threatened officers who chose inoculation for themselves with being "cashiered and turned out of the Army...as an enemy and traitor to his country." Again, we're seeing history repeat itself, with a ban on flu vaccines for the Hegseth army, until a major outbreak forced the shots to be restarted. 

In the closing essay, titled 'The Future of the Experiment,' there's a discussion of whether the states, "separated, moreover, not only by miles, but also by religion, customs, habits, and temperaments" can hold together; these differences, as well as history showing how hard it is to keep a vast empire together, were "already raising the specter of civil war - or wars - if the British presence is removed." The essay continued, 

Adding to the fear of anarchy is the fact that there are some Americans who oppose all central governments, even their own, and who view the Declaration of Independence as a declaration not against Britain alone, but against all large governments. Unity, for them, is a means and not an end...

Aside from all the military, political and economic problems, Americans must ask an equally important question: Is independence really justified? Are the principles, the view of man, underlying last week's Declaration valid, and can a commonwealth based on them endure?

...Perhaps the greatest peril to the future of the American experiment is that contending groups, properly encouraged to strive for their self-interest, will do so with such heedless vengeance that the needs of society as a whole will be forgotten.

The essayist concludes by posing a key question: Is independence justified - and will it work? Here's the answer:

The delegates in Philadelphia, and most of their fellow citizens, would answer yes - if man is indeed the rational, moral creature, capable of self-control for the greater good, that the Americans of 1776 believe him to be.

Fast-forward from the bicentennial year's look at 1776 to today, when we celebrate our nation's semiquincentennial in what feels like a deeply divided country, including over whether we even have anything to celebrate. 

People put so much time and effort into 'defining' things, whether it's trying to label 'the other side' or label each side's respective ideas. People argue daily about who is a 'real American,' who is a 'patriot,' and who is a 'threat to our very existence.' People gleefully report each other to law enforcement, to people's employers, or they dox them, causing all kinds of trouble, simply because they can't stand hearing another voice. I've been reported at least twice for social media activity.

There's an almost feral desire among political parties to cement their power and tighten their grip on whatever slice of the government they hold, regardless of how that impacts the country. Don't believe me? We have a president - right now - calling for changes that he thinks will ensure his party will be in power for the next American century, and that's not all that's going on. 

And yet? I love this country, even if I'm often driven nuts by the people in charge exercising power not theirs, those who refuse to exercise the power they have, and anyone who refuses to allow me the power I have as a citizen. 

I love this country, even if many of my fellow citizens - politicians, media people, influencers, and yes, people I'm acquainted with - think I can't possibly love America because I don't agree with them.

I believe in our founding principles of equality and the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. I believe we are a nation of immigrants. That includes my ancestor who came over on the Mayflower and the rest who started our various family lines here, and in my opinion, we need to remain one going forward. We are a nation of resisters, too, and need to remain one.

I believe we can continue our experiment and grow our nation, and that someone, somehow, will rise to the occasion, motivate all of us to become better Americans, and bring us back from what so often feels like the brink of disaster, if "man is indeed the rational, moral creature, capable of self-control for the greater good," as most thought in 1776, and as I remember most did in 1976 when I graduated high school.

Perhaps Thomas Paine had the right idea back then?

In the Progress of Politics as in the common occurrences of Life we are not only apt to forget the ground we have traveled over, but frequently neglect to gather up experience as we go.

In our 250th year and beyond, let's remember to do that, and to do it together.