Happy Birthday, America
Editor’s note: The following editorial appeared in the July 3, 1976, edition of the Valley Independent to commemorate our nation’s bicentennial. We’re republishing it here in honor of our nation’s 250th anniversary and as a reminder that 50 years may have gone by, but we are still the greatest nation in the world.
TOMORROW IS A BIG DAY for all Americans. It is July 4, a patriotic day in itself. This year, however, it takes on added significance because it is the 200th birthday of the United States.
Two hundred years, to us, seems such a long time. However, to many other nations in the world, it is rather insignificant. Many of them have been around for centuries.
What is rather unique about our Bicentennial is the type of government we have fashioned in those 200 years; a government that is the envy of other nations which have been around much longer. Where else in the world can people boast of the freedoms we have in America? Freedoms which have been preserved for those 200 years? The United States is the richest, most prosperous nation on the face of the earth.
We have taken a dream in the minds of a few people in 1776 and improved on that dream to the point where it can now be shared by more than 200 million people. We have declared as our national policy the inalienable right of all men to be free and self-governing and furthermore have practiced what we preached by granting independence to the people of our former possessions.
We have our critics at home and abroad. But most of that criticism stems from envy and jealousy. We have had our problems. We have had our scandals. We have had our share of wastrels. But, the beautiful part of it is that our form of government has been able to withstand all those turmoils.
Our system grows stronger with every assault. Where else can that be said?
America is far from perfect. It has had its noble moments. It has had its seediest moments. But it continues to grow and prosper because of those moments.
That’s what makes America a great nation, a leader of men. We have a flag, which isn’t unusual because all nations have flags. However, the words of allegiance to that flag carries a message that should be constantly in every American’s mind. “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.” Think about that pledge. Concentrate on its words. It tells the true story of America. Too bad other nations in the world do not have the same pledge.
That liberty, that justice mentioned in that pledge are the cornerstones of our free way of life. If only more of us would rededicate ourselves to that, then add equality, there would be no holding America back. That dream of 1776 would be realized even more.
One of the Mon Valley’s leading jurists and distinguished men, Washington County Judge Paul Simmons, spoke of the advantages of being an American citizen rather well at a recent Boy Scout dinner.
He urged young people to: “Make a career of citizenship, be patriotic and prepare ourselves through schooling in our colleges and universities for citizenship. If we maintain our religious principles, if we are eternally vigilant, if we react to wrongdoing and crime with righteous indignation, we will forge ahead in the next 100 years and will continue to be the greatest, happiest and most prosperous people on earth.”
Who could say it better? Happy birthday, America!
