By Stephen McKenna | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
On July 4, 1776, Thomas Jefferson presented perhaps the most consequential document written since the Bible to the Second Continental Congress.
On Aug. 2, the 56 delegates to that Congress, representing the 13 colonies, signed the Declaration of Independence. In doing so, these patriots also signed their own death warrants, should the British empire rebuff their effort to create a country ensuring every individual’s right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
From Patrick Henry’s closing line to the Second Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, “Give me liberty or give me death!” to former schoolteacher and Continental Army officer Nathan Hale’s, “I only regret that I have but one life to give to my country,” before the British hung him as a rebel spy during the Revolutionary War, men and women pledged their lives to the American dream.
In the late 18th century, Americans fought for freedom and liberty from Great Britain. In the mid-19th, we were nearly torn asunder by a Civil War over slavery and secession, still the bloodiest in our history. In the early 21st century, we fight each other over how to combat climate change, Covid-19, crime and waves of immigrants illegally crossing our borders. One man or the other will be elected this November, or perhaps a woman if the Democratic Party disenfranchises their primary voters and switches their nominee.
Whatever the outcome, the challenges that face this country are neither greater than those faced by our founding founders and those that fought in the Revolutionary War and later military battles and wars, nor are they lesser than those of any country that seeks a free and fair form of government.
The claim that the United States of America is the greatest country in the history of the world is both proclaimed and derided today. You may recall the memorable speech given on the first episode of “The Newsroom,” where anchor Will McAvoy expounds on why “America is not the greatest country anymore.”
He begins by stating that he believes the Declaration of Independence to be the greatest American document ever written, before noting that lots of other countries have freedom and citing statistics showing the United States trailing such countries in literacy, math, science, infant mortality and life expectancy.
He then scolds that: “We lead the world in only three categories, number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined, 25 of whom are allies.”
But then McAvoy shifts to remember when “We reached for the stars. We acted like men. We aspired to intelligence; we didn’t belittle it. It didn’t make us feel inferior. We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election. And we didn’t scare so easily.”
On this July 4th, I would respectfully submit that a country’s greatness is about more than statistics or gross domestic product. A country, like a person, is also judged by its moral code, by how it treats its citizens and others. On that record, I would argue that the United States is still the greatest country in the world – not because it has been or ever will be perfect, but because our founding documents and the principles they encourage us to strive toward make our country a better place; and as a result, the world.
Of course, the documents themselves would mean nothing if we did not actually strive toward achieving the lofty principles of our founding, but for the most part we do. As a result, the United States of America eradicated slavery, led the world out of two World Wars, won the Cold War, leads the fight against terrorism, and provides 24 percent of global domestic product with 4 percent of the world’s population. And what’s wrong with enforcing our laws, believing in angels, or a strong national defense?
Happy Fourth of July weekend!
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.