Independence Day

By Emily Burner

1787 Board Member

“God bless America, land that I love.” Words cannot describe the feeling of hearing this song sung by a multitude of people at our nation’s Capitol on the Fourth of July. This year, our country turned 235 years old. How neat to be able to go to America’s birthday party in Washington, D.C. Yet another item checked off my bucket list. And this year, I got to hear some of my favorite performers sing at the annual A Capitol Fourth concert! For me, this was an especially momentous occasion because I grew up watching this concert on TV almost every year we were home on the Fourth. To be there in-person…Wow!

The most poignant moment was hearing Oklahoma’s own Kelli O’Hara sing God Bless America. What a beautiful voice for such a meaningful song. I was reminded of the popular phrase in The Declaration of Independence - the document that gave us the Fourth of July: “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.”

“Pursuit of Happiness” - this can mean different things to different people. However, we must have freedom to pursue. Freedom to worship, freedom to choose what is best for our families, freedom in how we use our talents, freedom to enjoy blessings. But how do we ensure these freedoms?

It would be 11 years after The Declaration of Independence was written when we would have the framework for ensuring these freedoms - The Constitution. It’s the structure for how the government of the United States of America should work - “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” (Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address)

Yet as with many things, there can be too much. Today, we certainly see too much government. We must consider: In what areas are our freedoms being taken away? Where does someone else dictate our lives? This growth of government can be hard to see in our normal way of living - it’s a gradual change from generation to generation. We must think outside the box. Look to history: in what ways have we improved? Where do we need to change and move forward? Where do we need to back-track? How do we get back to the basics? However, we must be careful…ironically it will take government to solve the problem of ‘too much government.’ It will need to strip itself of some of its power and let go. It will not be easy.

“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!” - Ronald Reagan

And so, a week after celebrating our nation’s birthday, where do we go from here in order to ensure we can continue to celebrate from year to year? We can’t take our freedoms for granted. We must remain vigilant…take an active role in stopping this progression of too much government. This nation was fought for…let’s make sure it wasn’t fought for in vain. “The rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air.” The sight of fireworks at the Washington monument brought so many thoughts and emotions of what the Lord has blessed us with. I leave you with a picture, and I encourage everyone to go to D.C. at least once on the Fourth of July. Soak up the experience. It’s incredible.