The nation’s birthday approaches — let’s party

The founders of this nation held many differing views. Yet, they put their country ahead of their politics. They found the strength to reach an agreement that they collectively believed was best for the country. Currently, it seems political leaders and citizens in general have knowingly or perhaps unwittingly encouraged separation between races, political positions, religious practices, genders, age groups, and more (“Enough with the political attacks,” June 28)

We’ve moved away from the model of our founders where the courage to compromise was found for the greater good of the country. We’ve become obstructionist and divisive instruments of destruction of our country. Left unchecked, we are on a path that will lead to the loss of our independence and our country as we know it.

It is my hope that somehow we can rekindle the wisdom, strength and spirit of our founders. We need to address our current day shortcomings. We need to hear and discuss all views objectively and respectively. As a citizen, we need to do a better job of vetting and electing leaders that put country before personal. We need to find leaders willing to work hard and develop a means and willingness to compromise for the betterment of our country and all of its citizens. We need to discover leaders that are not too proud to go back, study, and learn from the philosophies of the founders and practice those philosophies in modern day methods.

The Declaration of Independence is well worth celebrating. The greatness of this country and its potential to be greater for all its people can be even more worthy to celebrate. If we return to the principles upon which the country was founded and apply those principles according to current time practices, the greatness of our country can grow to indescribable heights.

So, let’s celebrate the freedoms we have and let’s celebrate the opportunities to overcome our failures and strive for the visions of our founders.