by Ros Poplar (Fort Harrison Chapter SAR)

This July 4th will mark the 250th anniversary of  our great Republic - our “semi-quincentennial.” In the course of our history, America has endured internal civil strife, numerous foreign conflicts, and a horrific Civil War. However, in spite of these challenges, we remain a great nation that – though not without its flaws – serves as an inspiration to millions of oppressed worldwide.

Several of my ancestors, and perhaps yours, fought and died in the Revolutionary War. They left their comfortable homes and businesses  to risk it all, on the promise of a simple, forthright declaration: “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.”

America truly was an experiment, and indeed a risky one.  Many of those who signed the Declaration of Independence, risked and lost it all. Such experiments in human governance had been attempted before, but all ended in failure and deadly retribution The Founders understood what they were getting into and were willing to take the risk for an abstract concept that had never been attempted before in human history

In creating this new construct of government, our Founding Fathers concluded that an all-powerful central government could not promise to solve all the people’s problems for them. Instead, they envisioned government as a participatory system, that empowered the people to solve their own problems.  Thus, they designed a system balanced on three main axes: Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, and a Limited Government.

Placing the people – not the government – at the core of governance was what made America truly exceptional, but also uniquely vulnerable to social fragmentation. How can a citizen be totally free if their identity continued to be defined by previous prejudicial social constructs, such as creed, race, cultural tradition, and ethnic roots?  Our Founders’ answer was to enact a civil society where free citizens would create a new sense of shared community by assigning to each and all the responsibility to labor together and solve problems by consensus, in spite of their diverse backgrounds.

Our Founding Fathers were neither gods nor angels. They were complex, conflicted and, yes, flawed men who were sufficiently fed up with autocracy to venture this great experiment  faced a narrow window of opportunity and acted with both alacrity and courage. If it had not been for their vision and determination, we would not be the great nation that has stood the test of time against overwhelming odds.  

America is by no means perfect, but we remain the bedrock of freedom, that was laid down for us 250 years ago. As a people, we will never achieve perfection, but that was never our Founders intent.  May we continue for the next 250 years to be that shining city on the Hill serving as an eternal beacon of freedom, hope, and opportunity for mankind. May God bless America !

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the National SAR, Virginia SAR, its management, or its chapter affiliates.