Happy Independence Day, to all my US friends. 🇺🇸
On this “big birthday” celebration of our 250th, I am reminded of our Bicentennial back in 1976. I was 11 then, and remember the grand celebrations for the day, as well as my brother and my Liberty Bell shirts (mine was red, his was blue)….
But looking back I realize that the time was fraught: Ford was president after Nixon had been forced to resign; we’d just lost the Vietnam War; the nation’s economy was is a bad state. It was a tough time and many my parents’ age thought the country was doomed.
Today things feel very much the same: the populace has huge distrust in all branches of government; we’re in a senseless war that it appears we will lose (at least from a strategic point of view); the economy for normal people (not including the wall streett) is very, very rough. And many people my childrens’ ages don’t see much future in the USA.
But here’s the lesson the past 50 years have taught me: we are a resilient bunch. We’ve gone through many administrations, several recessions, several wars, and many, many other challenges, and our country is still here, its beating heart challenged but never overturned.
Let us take hope from history, use the challenges as an opportunity, and celebrate our 300th in style in 2076!
