Poet’s Corner: America’s 250th Birthday!

4 July 2026

I feel it is appropriate, as this day marks 250 years since our ancestors declared themselves independent of the Crown and British Empire, to deviate from Coleridge and consider what we commemorate every 4th of July. Considering all that has happened recently, I think it wise to remind all that the reason these ancestors of ours left Europe and Britain was for freedom, the freedom of conscience and the free exercise of religion. Many of those first colonists were groups of persecuted religionists who left Europe to escape censure because of their beliefs. The free exercise of religion–no matter what one’s religion is, and I would define it broadly as any ideology professed and followed by one or more persons. What this means is that, not only traditional religions–Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc.–but also Atheism, Secular Humanism, and Liberalism, ideologies so prevalent in our society today, fall under this broader category of religion, and all are protected by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. Let us never forget that all are protected by the Bill of Rights; any policy, law, or judicial decree that limits these rights is unconstitutional, no matter the entity that declares it legal. We too soon forget the principles on which our government was founded, and it is good to remember, and study, what those who instituted our government, our Founding Fathers, said and wrote concerning these rights. A good place to start (after the three founding documents–Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights) is the “Federalist Papers,” written to defend and argue for the new constitution, elaborating on the principles behind the Constitution.

As a reminder for all, I point all my readers back to the beginning of 1776, when the idea of independence was still not at the front of people’s discussions: the leaders of the colonies were still trying to be reconciled with England and the King. It was only after a small tract was published “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine, a recent immigrant from England, that our ancestors began to consider independence from Britain. In its day, this tract by Paine was what we would call a ‘best-seller,’ read by most of the people of that time. Many have since called Paine a “loose cannon,” a political radical bent on anarchy. He was, however, the right man at the right time, and his words altered the way our ancestors saw their future. I have often been struck by how one person, in the right place and time, can change the course of the future, which in this case led us to become our own nation, governed by the people. I wrote the following short poem to illustrate and commemorate this turning point in our history:

Turning Point–1776

I stood at the crux
public feeling in flux
patriots still toasting
the monarch unknowing
his mind not in balance
tilted wholly by malice
I fresh from our Mother
saw the excess of Father
my words were just Common Sense
then all chose independence.

May we always remember the sacrifices made by those who have gone before us to create, maintain, and preserve our freedoms! Happy birthday America! We will return to our regularly scheduled post on Monday. Good reading.