Sunday, July 6, 2008 | 2 a.m.
We need to declare our independence, once again.
We all know — or should know — the story of the Declaration of Independence and the courage and commitment that were invested in those men in 1776 who conceived that document. By doing so, they risked their livelihoods and their lives because upsetting the king of England in those days was not the smartest thing to do.
They knew, however, that if they and their children and their children’s children were to have the kind of lives that knew the freedom that liberty afforded and the security that a united country could provide, they would have to break from Mother England and pay the enormous price that might be exacted.
Well, we all know how that turned out. We are the greatest country on the planet and the envy of the free and other world. And I suspect we will remain that way for a long time to come.
But, it will not be easy. It is no secret that we have ceded our place at the top of every list to other countries that learned the lesson of America and set about to replicate what they saw. Whether it is in health care, the development of raw materials and energy, the forging of an economic system that remains strong while ours is being ravaged or, most important, the emphasis on the quality of education, other nations are doing a better job.
And, I fear, if we continue on this trend the United States of America will slip and, perhaps, fall to a point that our Founding Fathers could not have envisioned when they laid it on the line more than two centuries ago.
While I was at the doctor’s office the other day, I thought about the connection between the dedication of those courageous advocates of the Declaration of Independence and the war that resulted, and the level of education and understanding that reposed in those people who fought against overwhelming odds.
It was one of those times when mortality was on my mind — I was taking a test for life insurance, of all things — so the thought about what happens when I am gone was particularly pressing.
Naturally, to avoid focusing on the purpose of the tests, I talked to the nurses about their lives, their struggles and their dreams. What I heard made this Independence Day weekend much more meaningful.
We have for too long celebrated this day and this weekend by shooting off firecrackers, barbecuing hot dogs and hamburgers and waving the flag for reasons most of us do not comprehend. It is just another holiday and, thankfully, another opportunity to spend time with family and friends.
But it should be so much more than that. My discussion with the nurses this past week was about children and how they grow to adulthood. I learned from one of the women, who married very young and who is still married to her high school sweetheart 33 years later, the benefits of being a stay-at-home mom.
Even though her husband had a good job, her staying at home was a financial burden. But it was the right decision because her three kids all went to college — on scholarships and student loans — and each one is leading the way in their chosen fields of science and technology.
The other lady is a working mom. That, as we all know too well, is a major burden and one of the most difficult undertakings in life. Balancing work, children, carpools, homework, school plays and everything else that cries out for 48-hour days seems like a mission impossible. But she has managed to raise equally talented offspring with good values, a good work ethic and the kind of commitment that our Founding Fathers must have envisioned before they took up the pen and the instruments of war to make all this possible.
I mention all this because — and I am guilty of doing this too — we have been too quick, I believe, to rationalize so many of society’s ills by the need for both parents to work and, therefore, be inattentive or unavailable at home. Somewhere along the line, we have accepted the belief that making money is more important than making good human beings, good Americans.
The two ladies I spoke to made two very different decisions and yet they managed to raise the kind of children who will help form our more perfect union. If they can do it — however difficult it has been for them — then why do we not encourage other parents to make the same kind of decisions? Why do we buy into the idea that making money is the priority in life?
I am not preaching here, in part because I am the last person on Earth who should take any position about what financial hardships others need to endure for their children. But I am suggesting that we look at times like this — when we focus on what it took to gain and what it takes to keep our freedom — as an opportunity to refocus our priorities.
Life is difficult — more so now than in the past — but that does not mean we should rationalize away our roles as parents in favor of something more immediate, more self-gratifying. I met two very typical mothers who have not regretted one moment missed or one material possession not purchased when it meant doing better for their kids.
They have done their part to keep America free. By their actions as parents, they have declared their commitment to the independence of their children and the country they call home.
They gave better meaning to this Independence Day.
Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.
