Some 234 years ago our country’s founders declared their independence from the British monarchy. In doing so they declared themselves traitors to one of the most powerful empires on earth. And after years of bloody battles, cunning diplomacy, and with the aid of geographic fortune they achieved an independent nation. And after some false starts and years of debate they laid the basic structure of the nation we have today. The cornerstone of that structure laid so many years ago is the simple and basic principle that We the People govern ourselves. That We are the government.
Around 30 years ago a mantra rose up from politicians seeking a quick path to electoral office: the notion that We aren’t the problem; rather, government is the problem. At the time, only a few questioned that premise. After all, weren’t We suppose to be the government? But the mantra stuck and for years afterwords we have lived with the Other government. And the very idea of a government divorced from Us has allowed most of us to abrogate our responsibilities as part of We the People. It has allowed those with direct interests to craft laws in their favor; it has allowed politicians to become reactionary when called upon to act and often incompetent when ignored; it has allowed private and personal interests to send our fellow citizens off to die in foreign lands.
Our nation was never envisioned as a utopian paradise. It was never established as a perfect government or system. Rather, it was conceived of as an ongoing, constant, debate. And as new generations arrose their voices were to be added to the debate and their ideas would become part of the discussion. And through this endless debate would arise better ideas, compromises, and growth. Every epoch, every generation, re-founds our nation. It is far too important a task to leave to the British Petroleums, the Goldman-Sachs, the Limbaughs, or the Becks. It requires that We join the debate: join with the understanding that our nation is big, and complicated, and messy, and that rarely should one idea ever win out, and that though our voice seems like a whisper it remains part of the chorus of We the People.
Happy 4th of July.
