Thoughts on America – July 4 2020

July 4, 2020 is a bit different from previous years as it occurs in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest. However, it still brings me to a moment of quiet reflection.

Quotes from three historical documents come to mind this July 4 morning.

First: The Declaration of Independence – July 4, 1776

“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.”

Second: Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address – November 19, 1863

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

From the birth of this great nation and through great conflict, our forefathers established that the United States of America believed that all men are created equal. Although there would be much debate about what that statement meant and who was included, the foundational principle of that freedom was established from the beginning of this nation before God and the rest of the world.

America still stands as a bastion of freedom for the entire world. Perfect? No, but America remains well advanced in ensuring the freedom of all its citizens.

We should be thankful our forefathers brought us this far, with principles and foundational laws that were built to stand the test of time. We should be wise enough to build on our firm foundation that has withstood 244 years of storms, so our children and grandchildren will be able to continue to build and thrive on this established foundation.  

President Lincoln laid the course in his second inaugural address. My third historical document.

Third: Lincoln’s Second Inauguration speech – March 4, 1865

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Let that be our goal.

Wayne

Reference:

1. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
2. https://www.d.umn.edu/~rmaclin/gettysburg-address.html
3. https://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html