America was not founded from a place of fuck you. On the 250th, from a house that sits on a battlefield in Yorktown, Virginia, here’s what I learned about America and costs to belong to this place.
This was wonderful! I really enjoyed reading how your family, with a little bit and sometimes a lot of involvement, helped this country grow. A family that was passionate for causes that sometimes were opposites. It wasn’t just one kind of person, it was all kinds.
It was the mix that caused growth, which sometimes looked like failure and other times victory. It was the back and forth that allowed them to help mold our country. Americans are mostly immigrants. Not to say there wasn’t indigenous people here already. But it was the mix of people, of ideals, of fighting and war, but also the dream of a free country, a country where freedom was first and hard fought to win.
America is each one of us,looking back to see our own history and following the paths that brought us to today. No path was an easy journey, no path was laid straight with no obstacles. And while our paths might have shared ideals, locations, and experiences, each one was unique. Each path crossing barriers and cultures. Passing through history in unique ways, bringing with them on their back pieces of history that were the building blocks of today’s America.
Some were good, many were not. Some were tolerated, many were not. Some were tyrants, many were not. Some were leaders, others were followers, we found we needed both. Every person, throughout this country’s history left their footprints. Those footprints allowed us to become great, and the same footprints brought shame or despair, both of which are necessary for continued growth.
It is our footprints now that will decide today’s fate, form our part of the story.
Today, as in the past, we see division, separate ideologies and resistance to the changes that tears at a nation. Some want to go back to more simple times, less law and order, more government oppression of differences. Others looking forward seeing the value in each life and championing the person. A nation that values the person, not ideals forced upon us by society or government. But at the end of the day, maybe through collaboration, maybe through decent and conflict, each person lays the unique footprints that brought us through our varied yet entwined pasts and are the foundations upon which this nation was founded.
I tend to believe that each person must be free to be who they are. I struggle to see why others see differences when I embrace it. But if you look back you will see a lineage that is both unique to you but filled with good and bad decisions, ideologies that are conflicting, and ideals that are in direct conflict with yours.
These are the things that our nation was built upon and how a nation grows. I guess our part of this history will be contentious and somewhat scary. Will we embrace our feelings and let that lead us? Will we buckle to an administration that wants to divide and challenge our constitution, will we choose to ignore things and let others decide? It will be up to us to decide what is next for this nation. To look back to see how far we have come and how it took actions to bring us to this point. Do we want what we had or do we want new options. It is the same fight. We are just still shaping what that means, just as our ancestors did before us.
I can say that there are significant differences dividing our nation. I believe the days of ignoring the problem must be behind us. The days of saying, no, I didn’t vote, I didn’t like either candidate or whatever, will haunt us in the future. I think that religion is a tool that can work for both sides, but that whats important is the actual right we have to express ourselves. I believe that it is important to be involved at some level and not expect someone else to carry us. People are smarter these days. Activate that and get up out of your chair. Listen to learn.
An absolutely excellent piece for today. A joy to read, to learn a little more about you, and to find a kindred connection to someone I already hold with great respect. There was a tradition that has since died where a quilt was made by each member adding a piece, their story becoming intertwined in the nexts. That is the picture in my head of America. One giant fabric started centuries before, one small piece at a time, soaked in blood, sweat, tears. Some pieces never fully sewn because the story ended to soon. A fabric that I see being ripped apart, the trading lost, undervalued, and forgotten in today’s world. So thanks for making me want to get up and celebrate, keep fighting the fight every day, a fight so much easier than my ancestors. Happy 250th Rob. We’ll see you on the flip side.
This was wonderful! I really enjoyed reading how your family, with a little bit and sometimes a lot of involvement, helped this country grow. A family that was passionate for causes that sometimes were opposites. It wasn’t just one kind of person, it was all kinds.
It was the mix that caused growth, which sometimes looked like failure and other times victory. It was the back and forth that allowed them to help mold our country. Americans are mostly immigrants. Not to say there wasn’t indigenous people here already. But it was the mix of people, of ideals, of fighting and war, but also the dream of a free country, a country where freedom was first and hard fought to win.
America is each one of us,looking back to see our own history and following the paths that brought us to today. No path was an easy journey, no path was laid straight with no obstacles. And while our paths might have shared ideals, locations, and experiences, each one was unique. Each path crossing barriers and cultures. Passing through history in unique ways, bringing with them on their back pieces of history that were the building blocks of today’s America.
Some were good, many were not. Some were tolerated, many were not. Some were tyrants, many were not. Some were leaders, others were followers, we found we needed both. Every person, throughout this country’s history left their footprints. Those footprints allowed us to become great, and the same footprints brought shame or despair, both of which are necessary for continued growth.
It is our footprints now that will decide today’s fate, form our part of the story.
Today, as in the past, we see division, separate ideologies and resistance to the changes that tears at a nation. Some want to go back to more simple times, less law and order, more government oppression of differences. Others looking forward seeing the value in each life and championing the person. A nation that values the person, not ideals forced upon us by society or government. But at the end of the day, maybe through collaboration, maybe through decent and conflict, each person lays the unique footprints that brought us through our varied yet entwined pasts and are the foundations upon which this nation was founded.
I tend to believe that each person must be free to be who they are. I struggle to see why others see differences when I embrace it. But if you look back you will see a lineage that is both unique to you but filled with good and bad decisions, ideologies that are conflicting, and ideals that are in direct conflict with yours.
These are the things that our nation was built upon and how a nation grows. I guess our part of this history will be contentious and somewhat scary. Will we embrace our feelings and let that lead us? Will we buckle to an administration that wants to divide and challenge our constitution, will we choose to ignore things and let others decide? It will be up to us to decide what is next for this nation. To look back to see how far we have come and how it took actions to bring us to this point. Do we want what we had or do we want new options. It is the same fight. We are just still shaping what that means, just as our ancestors did before us.
I can say that there are significant differences dividing our nation. I believe the days of ignoring the problem must be behind us. The days of saying, no, I didn’t vote, I didn’t like either candidate or whatever, will haunt us in the future. I think that religion is a tool that can work for both sides, but that whats important is the actual right we have to express ourselves. I believe that it is important to be involved at some level and not expect someone else to carry us. People are smarter these days. Activate that and get up out of your chair. Listen to learn.
An absolutely excellent piece for today. A joy to read, to learn a little more about you, and to find a kindred connection to someone I already hold with great respect. There was a tradition that has since died where a quilt was made by each member adding a piece, their story becoming intertwined in the nexts. That is the picture in my head of America. One giant fabric started centuries before, one small piece at a time, soaked in blood, sweat, tears. Some pieces never fully sewn because the story ended to soon. A fabric that I see being ripped apart, the trading lost, undervalued, and forgotten in today’s world. So thanks for making me want to get up and celebrate, keep fighting the fight every day, a fight so much easier than my ancestors. Happy 250th Rob. We’ll see you on the flip side.
Your grandfather fought in the Civil War?
That’s remarkable. I’m nearing 70 years old and my grandfather was born around the time of WWI.
Thank you for a thoughtful and well-written article.
Great great