John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers, believed that the Fourth of July should be celebrated with “solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty” as well as “pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward and forevermore.”
No doubt John Adams would have approved of the spectacle that is in store for us this 250th commemoration of the birthday of the United States of America! We are indebted to so many, past and present, for preserving our freedoms. And many of those have been – and are – on the “home front” supporting those in the military and government.
Abigail Adams, with her husband John away in Philadelphia, had the responsibility of caring for their children and working the farm. She is remembered in part because of the letters she wrote to her husband while he and the other Founders were shaping the new nation. Perhaps her most famous letter was written March 31, 1776, in which she wrote “I long to hear that you have declared an independency – and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors.”
“Remember the Ladies” Abigail Adams wrote.
It would take over a century for women to gain the right to vote in 1920 – but not ALL women were given the right to vote. It took Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War to give slaves their freedom, but we continue to struggle to establish, as our Pledge of Allegiance asserts, a country that is “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” During the Civil War, the country was “divisible” divided with state against state, even family against family. However, that war resulted in the various states becoming the UNITED States of America.
“Civility” among citizens plays a major role in accomplishing this ideal: Being ONE nation. Interestingly, the words civil, civility, and civic all derive from the same Latin word for “citizen.” Our democracy is strengthened when we are civil, and weakened when we are not.
In his Gettysburg Address dedicating the cemetery of the great battle, Abraham Lincoln honored the sacrifice of those buried there and included these words: “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us … that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
We also must be dedicated to preserving our nation. We can choose to discuss the hard issues respectfully and problem-solve together.
Long ago as a graduate student, I celebrated the Fourth of July in England – a unique experience! Weeks later on a bus trip to Oxford, I saw an American flag flying. My immediate response was “Home!” The 19th century English novelist, Charles Dickens, commented that “in love of home, the love of country has its rise.”
In the midst of our jubilant celebrations this Fourth of July, let us take time to reflect on our flag’s meaning and rededicate ourselves to the task before us – being civil to each other so we can work together to preserve our nation. May the citizens of the UNITED States of America try to embody our country’s ideals for at least another 250 years!
Nancy Kelly Smith is a retired English professor and published author. She is also an Ambassador for the national civility organization Civic Renaissance. Learn more at civic-renaissance.com.
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