Statement from the CEO on America’s 250th Birthday
As proud and patriotic Americans dedicated to the safety and security of our nation, we at the American Security Project are excited to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday this July 4th. We wish you all a safe and enjoyable celebration with your friends and family.
At this particular point in time, it is incumbent upon us to reflect upon what it means to be American, and better understand what has allowed our shared nation to endure these two and a half centuries. Our country’s ability to continue for another 250 years depends on our collective ability to agree upon the shared ideals that define us, rather than be defined by the differences that divide us.
This organization was founded to build bipartisan consensus and educate our fellow citizens on the changing nature of the strategic national security interests of the 21st century. That consensus requires a high degree of agreement on the fundamental ideals that formed and continue to unite our nation, even as we debate the different means of securing our nation against the threats of today and tomorrow.
On this 250th birthday, it is worth revisiting all of our founding documents, but particularly the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration justifies the secession of the colonies by outlining a list of grievances against the British Crown and the government of Great Britain. Some of these grievances are still debated in modern American political discourse today; some ironically so—like the complaint that the British Crown was denying the ability of the states to bring in more immigrants and grow. But most importantly, the Declaration contains a few lines with some of the most famous words ever penned:
“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.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
These words declare not only the fundamental principles and the establishment of American democracy—they declare that these principles are universal, and that everyone in the world is born with undeniable rights. This has inspired the hopes, dreams, and efforts of others around the world for centuries, and established the United States as a moral leader. The U.S. Constitution, which lays out the legal structure of our rights and government, and to which our elected officials, public servants, and military servicemembers swear an oath to defend, did not come until effect until 1789—thirteen years after the declaration was signed.
250 years after our Founding Fathers declared us free and independent, we would be wise to remember the sacrifices made by countless patriots then and thereafter to establish and preserve our freedom, and by those who struggled at home to shape the freedoms and democracy that we enjoy today. It is not enough to be born American or to declare ourselves American—we must choose to personally exemplify what Americans should be, and to improve ourselves and our country when we have the opportunities. We must make a better effort to understand our fellow Americans and share in their experiences and dreams, so that we can all work together to ensure, as Abraham Lincoln so famously declared at Gettysburg, “that that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Happy Independence Day, America!
