A More Perfect Union

I always loved the 4th of July. In many ways, it’s the perfect holiday: no presents to buy or cards to send, no pressure to spend it with family if they're 750 miles away or to do much than be a slug. Sitting around drinking beer and eating good food are usually the only items on the agenda, whether it’s with friends and/or family or not at all.

Laid back, low pressure, low key: that’s my description of the perfect holiday.

I also love the fireworks, whether I see them in person or watch them on our incredibly large TV. It’s not a plasma wide screen, but it’s about as big as you can get otherwise and has the best picture short of a TV that costs as much as a car. Granted, it takes two grown men to lift it, but the picture is great. And even though I’m too cheap to pay for cable, with the digital converter box, the picture is even better than when I bought it at a pawn shop several years ago. I don’t know who needed the money, but I don’t care.

But I digress.

What I like most about the 4th is what the day stands for. Our founding fathers said the day should be celebrated with entertainment and great spectacles. That it should be a day of celebration of the freedoms we enjoy.

In the late 18th century, freedom and self-determination were new concepts. The idea that citizens had inalienable rights didn’t exist anywhere except here. There existed benevolent monarchies, republican monarchies and tyrannies. Democracy (even the republican form that evolved) was a totally new concept. Mr. Jefferson called it a “great experiment”. The experiment that he shaped probably more than anyone else has grown into a great country that changed history.

And not by invading other countries. We have led by an example that has created many, many new democracies.

Granted, many are imperfect, as is ours. I think that’s why the preamble of the Constitution says “in order to create a more perfect union.” They realized perfection was out of their grasp. Or anyone’s. But it could be more perfect than it was.

And it has continued to become so. In my short lifetime, I’ve seen civil rights guaranteed for all citizens, many who have gone from being marginalized to accepted. I’ve seen racism fading away (although it’s still there). I’ve seen my relationship with my partner decriminalized.

We aren’t where we need to be as a country yet. But that’s the beauty of the Constitution: it leaves many questions unanswered and sticks to broad principles. Those principles’ meanings change with every generation because of the broad language they employ and changes in public discourse.

In historical terms, we’re a young nation. Rome, Greece, the Chinese dynasties and the Persians ruled for thousands of years. Also, the Egyptians.

But in our scant history, we’ve managed to create a totally novel form of government that has survived revolution, civil war, world wars, depressions and recessions and even some leaders who were less than enlightened or competent.

Still, even in the most contested elections, we’ve had peaceful transfers of power. We’re not unique in that aspect, but there are still too, too many countries where the inverse is the norm.

I like the 4th because it reminds me of where I live and how lucky I am to be able to live unmolested and without political upheaval. I can live as I choose with laws that do not define me as a criminal because of things that the government has no business even knowing about. And while I've not always been happy with the results of closely-called elections, I live with them because I know that I'll have another say in a few years.

I won't deny that there are repercussions of contested elections. The winner loses a modicum (or a bit more in some cases) of legitimacy. As long as questions and speculations float around in the press, the winner is damaged goods. However, riots do not ensue and the military does not attempt to take control of the government.

And while my country is imperfect, we, as a people, are working our way to a more perfect union, still. After 233 years, we’re still growing up. We're still learning how to include everyone in that endeavor, but we are more perfect than we were when I was a kid.

We're all God's children, and I think that, as a country, we're getting closer to recognizing that than we've ever been.

Having said all that, "happy birthday to us", imperfect and flawed as we collectively are.

Let the fireworks begin.