Editorial: Happy July 4th!

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Today the United States once again celebrates the Fourth of July. It’s hard to believe it’s been 245 years since colonial leaders signed the Declaration of Independence, the document stating their intention to separate from the rule of Great Britain and form a new nation.

It was a risky move against the mightiest empire of the day, both militarily and economically. But colonial leaders were through being subjected to the whims of a monarch some 3,500 miles and an ocean away. And if you read the Declaration, which we recommend, you will find a list of “injuries and usurpations” by the British king that made life so miserable it was necessary to break away.

The most famous line of the Declaration, and the one that has proven the most difficult to live up to, is:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

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But that lofty ideal is immediately followed by two also important lines.

The first one puts the power in the hands of the people:

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

The next line gives the people the right to do away with a government that ceases to be beneficial. It was, after all, just what the signers were doing:

“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

The United States of America has taken a beating lately from some citizens who are unhappy with its founding, its history, its laws, its economic system, its place in the world and many other issues from the very personal to those affecting society as a whole. Discontent these days seems to cover the entire political spectrum.

And in these 245 years, the nation has indeed committed many grievous sins – among the worst were the mistreatment and eradication in some cases of the people who were indigenous to this land, and the enslavement of people captured and brought here from Africa.

Today, many people of the United States are still paying a dear price for both.

Yet there is more to criticize or even condemn. Some very vocal people decry an economic system they see as one where a large amount of wealth is concentrated among a very few while multitudes suffer poverty; laws that seem to favor people with political connections or of certain races or classes; the spoilage of land, air and waterways; and corruption among government officials.

An outsider might look today at the United States with wonder and think that surely it must be on its last legs as a superpower. But they would be ignoring much of the positive about this country.

What is considered poverty in the U.S. would be a successful lifestyle in much of the world. As the U.S. argues whether the minimum wage should be $15 an hour, the United Nations reports that more than 700 million people around the world are surviving on less than $1.90 a day.

While Congress debates how many trillions to spend on infrastructure and the vast majority of Americans expect clean water at the touch of a tap, the World Health Organization reports that 144 million people globally are dependent on surface water and at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with feces.

While Costco and Sam’s Club warehouses are filled with acres of food and restaurant franchises sprout like Russian thistles in cities across America, UNICEF reports that 690 million people go to bed each night on an empty stomach.

Americans constantly and correctly employ their free speech rights to point out this nation’s deficiencies, but the advantages this nation offers its residents leaves no doubt why hundreds of thousands of people from around the world each year try to cross its borders illegally or overstay their visas or apply for legal immigration.

So while it is easy for someone who has known only the freedoms and relative good life provided by this country to amplify its faults, this holiday we might remember comments from two former presidents:

In his 1989 farewell address, former President Ronald Reagan described the United States as: “… she’s still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the Pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.”

And former President Barack Obama said during his 2008 presidential campaign: “We may come from different places and have different stories, but we share common hope, and one very American dream.”

So, enjoy the Fourth of July, in a country that, with all its faults, for much of the world remains a beacon of hope.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.