In retrospect, it is easy to forget that the approval of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 was a revolutionary act. As Americans, we have celebrated the Fourth of July for 233 years, but we often forget that it took a war of eight long years to ensure the United States’ separation from the British Empire.
Since we know the outcome of that momentous event, we often take for granted that the Founding Fathers also knew that they would win. We forget that failure to secure American independence would possibly mean the Declaration would become their death warrant. One Declaration signer supposedly noted that, We must all hang together, prompting Benjamin Franklin to famously add, Or we shall certainly hang separately.
We forget that had the American Revolution failed, Britain would have likely branded the signers as traitors, and our Founding Fathers would have been executed, imprisoned or exiled.
Since we know how it all ended, we overlook that the Founding Fathers had no idea what would happen next. True, they had hopes and faith in their actions. John Adams rightly predicted that Americans would celebrate the anniversary of American independence as a holiday of jubilation. But the founders had neither guarantees that they were forging a new nation nor that its creation would still be celebrated more than two centuries later.
In July of 1776, they only knew that they were taking a bold step. The Declaration of Independence pitted a loose confederation of argumentative colonies against Britain, which was then the world’s predominant superpower with an empire and resources spanning the globe. The founders knew the hazards of this conflict while our generations, which have lived with the concept of America as a superpower for decades, tend to forget that our ancestors were financially and militarily overwhelmed.
So, we often skim over the courage and faith of the Founding Fathers based on our knowledge of the Revolutionary War’s outcome. Yet, we also take for granted the truly revolutionary idea that the founders proposed. The Declaration of Independence promised a new type of nation.
The most extraordinary idea in the Declaration of Independence — perhaps the most important and crucial line penned in all of American history — is “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
It is this one line, possibly more than any other in the document, which has led some historians to refer to the Declaration of Independence as “American Scripture.”
The Declaration is not a document of how a nation should be governed — that is the purpose of the Constitution. Instead, the Declaration of Independence and its words of equality have become the benchmark of the American Dream, a calling card for the nation’s purpose.
The Founding Fathers could not know how these words would shape their new nation and the world in the years to come. The majority of the founders took it for granted that equality extended only to land-owning, white males.
They likely would not have predicted that the Declaration would become a promise for all Americans, man, woman and child, regardless of race, religion or creed. They would likely be shocked to learn that the Declaration’s meaning is still debated today. But the promises of the document, of the Fourth of July, of the American ideal remain. It is a promise of freedom that we should never take for granted.
What We Think
What We Think: A promise for all Americans
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Elections: Creating a two-party region?
Twenty years ago, most area elections were decided during the primaries. Then, almost every candidate qualified as a Democrat. While there may be plenty of challengers on the ballot, many seats were decided in July or a few weeks later during the primary run-off.
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Thumbs up, thumbs down
THUMBS UP: To South Georgians making fine impressions on television singing competitions. Phillip Phillips of Leesburg won “American Idol” this week. Meanwhile, Lowndes High School graduate Stacia Watkins participated in the new ABC show “Duets.” Well done!
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Farewell to the vanishing ace
Donald S. “Bush” Bryan was not only a rare individual. He was part of a vanishing breed.
An Adel resident for the past 30 years, Bryan was a World War II flying ace. Not just an ace but a double ace. A pilot must down five enemy aircraft to become an ace; Bryan downed 13.3 enemy planes in Europe. The fractions represent planes downed with other pilots. -
A widespread mosquito alert
In announcing the discovery of a mosquito carrying the West Nile Virus strain, city and health officials did not include the specific location of the discovery.
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Of Guantanamo Bay and a Founding Father
Some readers may wonder how a Valdosta High School graduate could bring himself as an attorney to represent a Guantanamo Bay prisoner charged in connection to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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Congratulations, VSU Softball!
This weekend, Valdosta State University Blazers Softball became the latest team to add to Valdosta’s TitleTown legacy.
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School’s out so watch out!
Summer is a time of rest, vacations and trips. It is a time when school is out, when people take time off from work, when people may stay out a little later. It is a time of swimming, trying new things, and seeking adventure.
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Qualifiers are next leaders
While the national media focuses attention on the presidential election, it should be remembered that we will also choose our local leaders this year.
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Thumbs up
THUMBS UP: To the 2011-12 arts season. Theatre Guild Valdosta’s rollicking comedy, “Caught in the Net,” officially brings to a close a magnificent schedule of shows ranging from theatre to opera to concerts to art exhibits and more from a variety of area venues. Theatre Guild will also open the 2012-13 season this summer with the musical “Into the Woods.” Until then, arts lovers can soon enjoy a new series of exhibits from the year-round Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts and three musicals starting in two weeks from Peach State Summer Theatre.
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Events that get things done
Finding something that repeatedly attracts the public is difficult enough, but finding an event that accomplishes that feat while also promoting your organization and helping others … well, in many places, that’s a rarity.
Not so for the Valdosta area. - More What We Think Headlines
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Elections: Creating a two-party region?
