USA worth celebrating
Today, we celebrate America’s independence, and thus the 242nd birthday of the United States.
The country remains young in the scheme of things. If pre-Civil War America was the shakedown cruise, then we are still enjoying the maiden voyage today.
As with any birthday, it is a fine time to evaluate exactly where we are on this exalted journey.
Even taking into account our ongoing challenges, it can only be concluded that, in the immortal words of 2014’s “The Lego Movie”: Everything is awesome.
Americans enjoy freedoms and prosperity unlike any other country, and an unrivaled optimism and belief in the ability to change our fortunes. The unemployment rate sits below 4 percent. In fact, in 2018 America, there are more jobs available than people to fill them.
Our economy is roaring along. According to a recent Gallup poll, “Americans continue to recognize a robust U.S. job market, with 65 percent saying that it is a good time to find a “quality job,” similar to 67 percent in May. These are the highest readings in Gallup’s 17-year history of tracking this measure of Americans’ views of the employment situation.”
Technology and science have improved the quality of life to a level that would have been unfathomable a few generations ago. Smartphones have brought every bit of knowledge, art and literature into the palms of our hands.
Medicine and health care let us live longer. The average American born today will live to be about 78 years old. In 1900 it was about 49.
Culturally, there are certainly divisions in this country but nothing compared to other periods in our raucous history. Social media and click-bait news outlets paint a chaotic picture because sensationalism sells, but we live in relative tranquility compared to Americans of other generations.
Parades and cookouts will be attended by everyone from little children frolicking to old men just enjoying the jovial atmosphere — a lifetime away from the experiences they had in World War II.
Today is an annual reprieve from our lives, whether it be during a World War, the Great Depression, or a time of political strife.
Men will convene around the grill and offer unsolicited advice to the unfortunate griller. Gen X moms will chide their daughters for doing the Macarena wrong and those daughters will be horrified at their moms doing it right.
We will be thankful for the servicemen and women far away ensuring our ability to celebrate in safety.
We will find ways to help those less fortunate than ourselves, privately and as a nation.
Many folks will resolve to steer clear of talking politics. Some will be successful.
We have it good in the USA. We have it good because we resolve to do good.
We are not perfect, certainly. Sometimes it seems that we spend more time exploring imperfection than anything else. But that’s not a new phenomenon. As noted by Mark Twain: “It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.”
Today we celebrate the idea of America, a radical experiment in freedom coming up on her sestercentennial while still in a form of beta testing that will never be finished.
We strive for perfection, imperfectly.
Today we should applaud all of those who made this day possible. The original cast is no longer with us but brave men and women have continually preserved this country through their sacrifice. As Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.”
Happy Independence Day.