Around the United States, people are gathering this Fourth of July to celebrate the 250th birthday of our country. Homes are decorated in red, white and blue, fireworks will light the skies in the evening hours, and in Coronado, an annual parade will run down the city’s main street.
The distinctly patriotic spectacle is a celebration of America. And for many of us, that means smearing mustard on a hot dog while enjoying time with friends and family. It’s a day to pause, to celebrate, and to remember who we are.
The United States’ hosting of the World Cup is a fresh reminder that people from all corners of the globe are finding elements of their own heritage intertwined into the American experience – which is the dream to pursue one’s pathway – regardless of race, ethnicity, or social economic background.
Exactly 250 years ago today, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was officially adopted by the Continental Congress, severing the 13 American colonies from political connections to Great Britain.
The American colonists declared themselves an independent nation:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation,” the first sentence reads.
After this official declaration, the colonists won the Revolutionary War that was already underway and created a central government. Documents like the Articles of Confederation, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights outlined what exactly it means to be an American.
America was built on the principle of freedom in all areas – speech, religion, commerce, rule of law, and a political system that aims to protect those rights. This opportunity provides a pathway to the “pursuit of happiness.”
“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,” the declaration continues.
And while our 250 year journey has been imperfect, our experiment is still the envy of the world, and the reason why so many risk their lives to pursue their dreams in America.
So this 4th of July, we take a moment to recognize the tenants of freedom and opportunity that formed our nation. Why? Because forgetting them is the first step to losing them.
