WHEREAS, when our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, a majority of colonists did not support it, as they were either loyal to the King or indifferent. This meant General George Washington had to fight one of the largest empires in world history with most of his country not fully behind him. His army was continually unpaid. He refused a salary as general and as president because he wanted to serve his country.
WHEREAS, the United States Constitution is the world’s longest-running constitution. National constitutions around the world only last around 20 years on average.
WHEREAS, George Washington broke with longstanding European military tradition, by awarding military badges to everyday front-line soldiers for their sacrifice, as opposed to only high-ranking officers. Washington elevated our country’s appreciation of veterans, which remains to this day.
WHEREAS, James Madison’s Bill of Rights was so advanced that most people living today do not have most of the constitutional rights we were granted in 1791.
WHEREAS, the Boston Tea Party and the creation of “No Taxation Without Representation” enshrined low taxes in our government. Lower taxes empowered everyday people and small businesses to great, never-before-seen heights, which made us the world’s biggest economy in 1890, unseating our former tyrant, Great Britain. Today, the average wage of America’s poorest state is still greater than the average wage of most European nations.
WHEREAS, early abolitionists fought against both local public opinion and evil entrenched international slave institutions. Within Congress’ first five years, they passed the first ban on slave ships. Western culture did not invent slavery (which existed in every major culture for centuries), but America and Europe were among the first to end it — decades earlier than most nations in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. America forced the Philippines to end slavery in 1902. Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth’s achievements inspire us to fight human trafficking today.
WHEREAS, we are among the rare nations with a constitutional right to a trial by jury of peers for criminal cases and the only nation with juries for regular without-limit civil cases.
WHEREAS, America provided women the right to vote in Japan (as a condition of their WWII surrender) and helped restore the right to vote for women in Afghanistan in 2001.
WHEREAS, America created the world’s first national park. 6,500 exist worldwide today.
WHEREAS, America has been ranked as the number one nation for personal generosity. Social scientists tie this phenomenon directly to the nation’s robust Judeo-Christian heritage and population, which is why the Founding Fathers were so devoted to protecting Freedom of Religion in our Constitution.
WHEREAS, America built the Panama Canal, the internet, and the satellite GPS system for the rest of the world to use.
WHEREAS, in World War II, Imperial Japan had invaded 22 countries and killed 20 million people, and Nazi Germany had invaded 24 countries and killed 26 million people. The only way to end these unstoppable historic death machines was for America to send an entire generation of young men to fight and die on the front lines. America immediately helped rebuild both nations and became close friends and essential allies.
WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did something radically different when he drew inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and Jesus Christ for a daring campaign of non-violent protest that was unique, risky, and opposed by his own supporters. Dr. King’s peaceful protest under brutal persecution shocked the conscience of the nation, quickly moved people’s hearts, and brought sweeping civil rights in just nine years. It inspired Poland’s Solidarity movement (during the Cold War), Nelson Mandela, and civil rights movements in Britain, India, Brazil, and Zambia. Dr. King was the man the world needed.
WHEREAS, we led and won the Cold War, liberating 70 million people from communism, where they lived with no freedom of speech, press, travel, or religion.
WHEREAS, our full embrace of capitalism made us outperform all other economies for most of the past 100 years. With only 4% of the world’s population, we make up over 20% of the world’s income. It has spurred inventions such as polio vaccines, MRIs, anesthesia, blood banks, electricity, airplanes, air conditioners, moon landings, cell phones, email, colas, and cultural contributions like jazz, blues, rock n’ roll, country music, baseball, basketball, and football.
BE IT RESOLVED that we should use our individual gifts to celebrate America. Those who write should write like BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, who used wit and humor to rally America. Those who write poetry should write poetry like the African American teenage girl PHILLIS WHEATLEY, who in 1773, under threats of treason, penned patriotic poems for the revolution and became an internationally recognized poet. Those who pray should consider GEORGE WASHINGTON, who fasted and prayed for peace, providence, and national unity.
