Entering our 250th year

By Paul Lintern, Editor, the Joyful Noiseletter

Blessings to you on the Fourth of July.

As we head into our 250th year, I think most today assume that the War for Independence was all about Englanders breaking away from Mother England. Those fighting for independence were not necessarily English, but they were uniquely American.

The 13 American colonies were all subject to the King of England, but after 150 years as colonies, most of those living there were not of English origin — even apart from the Irish, Welsh, Celtic and Scottish natives who were from Great Britain.

Many were immigrants from every European country, mostly fleeing religious tyranny (seeking religious freedom) or seeking new opportunities away from landlocked, warring countries. Many were dragged over from Africa as slaves and a mix of native people assimilating into the colonies.

They were the American Colonies — subject to England, but wanting freedom to self-govern.

Most would have remained a nation-state — the Commonwealth of Virginia or Massachusetts, or the nation of North or South Carolina, two very distinct peoples.

But a Federation, a union of colonies, was the only way to create a union of states, and so all 13 colonies (New York abstaining) approved the Declaration of Independence, after more than two years of discussion, compromise, prayer and resolve.

But this is my take away for Independence Day.

We wear hyphens to identify our brand of American, and brandish the distinctions as irreconcilable differences, but the common word is still American, there because it still allows a unique opportunity in the geography and history of today.

Our nations and natures of origin and genealogy do not define us so much as our ability to speak freely, worship as desired and proclaim liberty, and that is distinctively American.

This is a call to the vision of the 1770s, to claim what is uniquely American, which identifies us not by how we look, but how we stand, as much for the rights of our neighbors as for our own, focused on our common goals, or common land, or common dream.

It was not a clear vision for everyone — barely one-third of the population actively supported Independence — but it was a dream that could happen only because of those who left persecution to find opportunity here.

And yes, many were dragged here in chains — common throughout the world and the centuries, but why do we overlook that here was the first place that slavery was abolished — in one, then another colony, and in most by the time of the 1770s.

Only because of Georgia and South Carolina and the need for universal approval, was the clause abolishing slavery removed from the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.

This is a call to cherish what makes an American unique, an exceptionalism that is not about being better than, or smarter than, or holier than, or stronger than others, but about being uniquely allowed to dream and grow and accomplish because of what is in place in our founding documents — for all people, now more than ever.

Thank you, Lord, for this American adventure; show us how to honor you with all you have blessed in us.