Some of us are old enough to remember the Bicentennial, that great day in 1976 when we celebrated the great achievement of 200 years prior: The signing of the Declaration of Independence. I remember it very well; I was 14 that summer, and on the 4th, my cousin and I were sitting in front of a tent in one of the meadows that dotted the hardwood timber of Allamakee County, Iowa. The land we were camped on was bordered by a camp owned by what was then the Girl Scouts of America, and while the younger girls stayed in bunkhouses near the Upper Iowa River, the older girls, aged 14-18, if memory serves, stayed in cabins in another hilltop meadow, about a quarter-mile from where my cousin and I were camped.
We were roasting hot dogs over our campfire when the fireworks started. We didn’t ever venture into the Girl Scouts camp, at least, not after a couple of close encounters with the camp’s large, rather simian, intimidating full-time caretaker. But we had a good enough view from where we were.
“What’s going on?” I wondered.
“It’s the 4th of July,” my cousin replied.
“Oh, yeah.” Then, our conversation went back to the next day’s plans for trout fishing.
Of course, the Bicentennial was a big deal. It wasn’t just a one-day affair, either. The celebrations went on all summer, and in those long-ago days before the internet, I don’t remember anyone protesting the celebrations; for everyone I knew or was exposed to, it was a time for celebration. 200 years of American liberty! Can you imagine?
Now, much older and much grayer, I find myself looking at 250 years of American liberty. Things are different now; now, people are protesting, people are talking crap about the United States.
But we can get into that another time. Today, of all days, it’s the day to look at all that’s great about America. Because, let’s face it, there’s never been another nation, in the history of this world, quite like the United States of America.
What we celebrate on this Independence Day is well-known: On this day, 250 years ago, a bunch of colonies on a strip along the Atlantic Ocean, tired of being taxed and regulated without any say in the matter, told the king of the most powerful empire in the world, Great Britain, where to head in. We then proceeded to fight for and win our independence. And boy, howdy, what we did with it!
With the French and British moving out of what was then the frontier, in places like Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, Americans moved in. We got as far as the Mississippi, then hopped across. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought the vast Louisiana territory from France, and then he sent Lewis and Clark west to explore the lands beyond the Mississippi. Not content to stop where the Louisiana Territory technically ended, they went on to the Pacific Ocean, then returned with good news: Lots and lots of land, good land.
Later, we brought Texas into the Union. We went to war with Mexico, and as part of the settlement, we bought from them much of what is now New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
It wasn’t all good times; Right around there, we were almost torn apart by a war of secession. But the Union survived that.
And finally, my own adopted home state of Alaska and Hawaii rounded out what became 50 states. That’s a nice even number.
America’s still a great place. Our Constitution has survived, one of the longest-lasting primary governing documents in place in the world today. We’re still the big kids on the block, as we have been since before we bailed Europe out of two world wars. Oh, yes, I know, in World War II the Soviet Union paid a higher price than we did, but they fought with a lot of American trucks, guns, and aircraft. In fact, that’s in large part how we won World War II in Europe and in the Pacific: by industrial might. The Germans or Japanese could shoot down one of our planes or blow up one of our tanks, and we’d build five more. We literally buried the Axis in trucks and planes and guns. Logistics is what wins wars, every time; the side that can get the most beans and bullets moved forward the fastest is the one that wins, and at that, we have been the champions.
Now, today, we’re still the big kids. We are the industrial-sized butt-kickers. We fight harder, pee farther, and talk louder than any other nation on Earth. And, even today, even now, being an American means something. And if anyone comes here and tries to mess with the American people directly, well, we have something no other country has: The Second Amendment.
That’s not all we have. Some time ago, I talked about how great it was to live in a country that, should you get into trouble anywhere in the world, will come for you:
Not a lot of the subjects, serfs, or residents of other countries can say that.
It’s been 250 years. And now, today, being an American, a real American, one who embraces being an American, still means something. Because America is still great. It’s still the greatest place on the planet, and if you doubt that, just ask yourself why everyone wants to come here. They aren’t building rafts out of tractor tires and wood pallets to get to Cuba, and that’s for sure and for certain. We’re still the biggest and the best, and we have been, now, for 250 years.
I won’t be around for the 300th anniversary of American liberty. That makes me a little sad, sometimes. But my kids should be, although they will be in the 80s and 90s, and my grandkids should be around. I hope that, in 50 years, they can read these words and say, “Yeah, Grandpa, we still are the biggest and the best.”
About this year, though, I can only say this: I love this country. I would give my life to defend it. It’s that important. It’s my home. I’ve traveled this great nation extensively, from the hardwood forests of the east to the deserts and valleys of California, from the lakes of northern Minnesota to the arid border country of south Texas. Now, in my senior years, I’ve come to Alaska, which I love most of all. But I wouldn’t trade away anything. This is my country. This is my home. I’ll defend it to my dying breath.
Happy Independence Day, readers. Enjoy the day. Then, once this great day is over, let’s get to work. We’ve got a midterm election to win, to make sure America remains the biggest and the best.
