Our Independence Day celebration has a long tradition of cookouts and fireworks. We have fun whether it be somewhere to swim or just in a backyard, we enjoy the day. This year with the 4th falling on a Wednesday, for some it was a pain scheduling-wise and, for at least a few, led to the work week being cancelled. For the record, I would prefer the 1st Monday of July to celebrate the 4th. Nothing of real importance historically happened on the 4th. The actual vote declaring our Independence was on July 2nd with the last signature on the original document in late August. So why not treat it like the many other holidays now that are on the first Monday?
Okay, now with that out of the way, I can share what I really want to say. Because the teaching and learning of history has declined so much, I’m afraid most of our citizens know very little about how we as a country got to where we are. And not knowing leads to an environment where the impacts of the total craziness going on today in Washington DC is not sufficiently understood. I just finished reading David McCullough's book on John Adams and highly recommend it. Our Founding Fathers would not believe what stupidity we witness on a daily basis that is so out of touch, for example, with the words of the Declaration of Independence, “all men (and women) are created equal.” There is a good reason why our system of government has for many years served as the model for the rest of the world. That is not the case today, and we must work hard to restore these values and our place in the world.
It has always been easier to tear something down than to build it up. Years went into putting our system of governing together. Now day-by-day it is being ripped apart. What can we do? Well for one, be an intelligent voter; see beyond the smoke and mirrors and help make the decisions that will best serve our future. Surely by now we understand that elections do have consequences.
Have a safe and enjoyable 4th. The photo below comes from the Independence Day festivities at the National Archives. This celebration was a highlight for me every year when I served as Archivist of the United States.
Okay, now with that out of the way, I can share what I really want to say. Because the teaching and learning of history has declined so much, I’m afraid most of our citizens know very little about how we as a country got to where we are. And not knowing leads to an environment where the impacts of the total craziness going on today in Washington DC is not sufficiently understood. I just finished reading David McCullough's book on John Adams and highly recommend it. Our Founding Fathers would not believe what stupidity we witness on a daily basis that is so out of touch, for example, with the words of the Declaration of Independence, “all men (and women) are created equal.” There is a good reason why our system of government has for many years served as the model for the rest of the world. That is not the case today, and we must work hard to restore these values and our place in the world.
It has always been easier to tear something down than to build it up. Years went into putting our system of governing together. Now day-by-day it is being ripped apart. What can we do? Well for one, be an intelligent voter; see beyond the smoke and mirrors and help make the decisions that will best serve our future. Surely by now we understand that elections do have consequences.
Have a safe and enjoyable 4th. The photo below comes from the Independence Day festivities at the National Archives. This celebration was a highlight for me every year when I served as Archivist of the United States.
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