S-N Editorial

America is poised mark its 246th birthday on Monday. While the Fourth is always a big party, many citizens may find reasons to celebrate few and far between this year.

To say there's a lot of domestic turmoil right now would be monumental understatement. Half the country can hardly agree with the other side that the sky is blue, and those tensions seem to grow tenfold by the week. We may be 50 United States, but it never seems like unity is front and foremost on most Americans' minds these days.

Political divisions are greater than the Grand Canyon. Vitriolic rhetoric from both sides has created a hostile environment from sea to shining sea. Inflation is through the roof, and nobody can forget an election that happened almost two years ago. National leadership is in the cellar and poised to stay there for the foreseeable future – after all, we elect these people and keep doing so despite a lack of results. Aside from never-ending arguments over guns, abortion and other hot-button issues, we're still trying to get past a pandemic that has killed more than a million Americans in two years.

If you wanted to claim the state of the union isn't exactly healthy right now, you'd have a hard time finding an argument to the contrary.

Still, we must strive to be "more perfect." This country has dealt with a lot during its two-plus centuries of existence: A Civil War, economic collapse, two World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement and political scandal after political scandal. Through it all, we've become the greatest, most powerful country in the world. That's something to be extremely proud of despite our faults.

We'll always have a long way to go, but that's the beauty of a democracy. We can fight tooth and nail on the issues, but in the end we can only hope both sides salvage a few scraps to be happy about. A melting pot of both people and ideas, this country is truly unique.

In his 2018 book The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, author Jon Meacham wrote a succinct blueprint of what we Americans need to remember during times of turbulence.

"To know what has come before is to be armed against despair. If the men and women of the past, with all their flaws and limitations and ambitions and appetites, could press on through ignorance and superstition, racism and sexism, selfishness and greed, to create a freer, stronger nation, then perhaps we, too, can right wrongs and take another step toward that most enchanting and elusive of destinations: a more perfect Union.

"To do so requires innumerable acts of citizenship and private grace. It will require, as it has in the past, the witness and the bravery of reformers who hold no office and who have no traditional power but who yearn for a better, freer way of life."

Have a wonderful Fourth this weekend. In between bottle rockets, beers, hot dogs and ballgames, take a moment to reflect on how far we've come as a country – our successes and failures; our triumphs and tribulations. We can have a lot to celebrate while at the same time knowing there's a long ways to go to be the best nation we can be.

Happy birthday, America – let freedom ring!