An Idea Called America
Written by Bill Cox
Signing of the Constitution by Howard Chandler Christy
“ As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country , what does it mean that America is an idea? Lately, for many, it seems, it is a bad idea, a nation steeped in injustice, racism, and any number of destructive notions and practices. But is it? Particularly, is it a bad idea compared to all the other ideas?”
A man named Michael Haymes wrote of the concept of America as an idea, a sentiment echoed by a number of politicians. Haymes wrote:
“America is an idea, a dream rooted in a directed vision that boldly declares that life is not simply meant to be endured but enjoyed through our pursuit of happiness; that liberty and justice are not granted by a privileged few but earned by the oppressed through their devotion toward a more perfect union; and that the progress of inching ever closer toward the sanctity of what America must be takes a multigenerational marathon of endurance, vigilance, and, above all, responsibility.”
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country , what does it mean that America is an idea? Lately, for many, it seems, it is a bad idea, a nation steeped in injustice, racism, and any number of destructive notions and practices. But is it? Particularly, is it a bad idea compared to all the other ideas?
I have to admit I’m a sucker for patriotic spectacles and sentiments. Living much of the last few decades in the Deep South and the Midsouth heartland, one of Alison’s and my joys has been visiting small towns on extended holiday weekends for simple celebrations of faith, family, and sacrifice. One memory that is very vivid was attending a high school football game in Huntsville, the Friday after the World Trade Center attacks. As the high school band played the national anthem, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.
While many of the managerial class and the highly educated among us disdain simple virtues and an optimistic love for the American ideal, in small communities across the land, one often finds simple gratitude and connection to the land and the past. Kentucky writer Wendell Berry said;
“If you don't know where you're from, you'll have a hard time saying where you're going.” I think that sums up well what the American idea is about: a connection to a shared history, some noble, some maybe not so much, and a deep abiding sense of place and identity.
While much of our history focuses on wars and famous battles such as Gettysburg and D-Day, it’s so much more than that. It is the remarkable journey of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, beginning here in Louisville to discover and map the vast wilderness. It is the fiery missionaries spreading the gospel in the new land. It is Ellis Island welcoming various ethnic groups who braved the seas to seek freedom and fortune in the land of promise. In the volatile age we live in today, thank God for Dr. King, who “refused to let any man poison my soul”. What of stoic Jackie Robinson, America’s preacher, Billy Graham, or the astronauts and inventors? The stories are endless, some well known and some not so much, but are part of the narrative quilt. In that most well-known document, the founders summed up the American ideal;
“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” Johnny Cash wrote a song called “ragged Old Flag” which said, in part:
“And the government for which she stands
Is scandalized throughout the land
And she's getting threadbare and wearing thin
But she's in good shape for the shape she's in
'Cause she's been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more
So we raise her up every morning
We take her down every night
We don't let her touch the ground and we fold her up right
On second thought, I do like to brag
'Cause I'm mighty proud of that ragged old flag”
Me too