We have always lived in interesting times, so the time-worn blessing/curse is a bit superfluous.
The document that we celebrate the 250th anniversary of this year was created in incredibly “interesting” times. I often wonder if, had I been a small New England merchant at that time, I would have had the passion and the courage to join in the resistance against our colonial overlords.
It would be nice to think I could have been counted among those courageous revolutionaries, but I can’t answer that question honestly. 18th century Great Britain had one of the most powerful navies and well-financed militaries on the planet while the American colonies boasted small, underfunded and ill-equipped militias, scattered and not unified. Not the best odds.
Those who drafted the Declaration of Independence and those representatives who signed were documenting nothing less than treason against the Crown. Born in that crucible of uncertainty and the struggle for colonial consensus, it’s amazing that those words have stood up for 250 years. Imperfect words by a handful of imperfect but brave men. An incredibly meaningful statement of mission and identity.
In these “interesting” times, the challenges to the framework set out by our predecessors and the subsequent Constitution are as robust as ever.
While the intent was the de-centralization of power and protections laid out about the “checks and balances” meant to monitor the use of power, constant citizen vigilance is required to maintain that which we enjoy, but often merely assume that “someone else” is on watch. Being overly-dependent on government solutions plays into the hands of those who seek disproportionate power.
We have created layers upon layers of representation within the various states and cities and, perhaps, it’s that standing army of suits that we’ve come to depend on to preserve our rights and freedoms. Our current Executive Branch has provided us with an ongoing litmus test to see just how much we remember from our school days civics classes.
Our small municipal governments handle some of the most critical issues in our day to day quality of life, and are (or rather, should be) free of party constraints and ideologies as they are the most direct servants of their constituencies.
Our job, 250 years hence, is no less critical than the jobs of those in those sweaty meeting halls in the 1770’s. We need to constantly question, critique and, if necessary, protest. But we need to do so being mindful of who we are, what has transpired and how we are evolving. The outside and sometimes critical perspectives of Churchill and Tocqueville should keep us rooted in how the world views us.
Each and every one of our enumerated rights is attached to an individual responsibility. Elections matter. Courage matters. Please commit to being informed, thinking independently and voting. Our country and our cities are always at stake.
Happy 4th!
