Last week I was walking by a stack of magazines. On the top of that stack was a magazine that showed The Declaration of Independence being shredded and the question “Is it still relevant?” I stopped in my tracks and was completely heart broken at the thought at of the Declaration being shredded.
Is it still relevant? Is it STILL relevant? OF COURSE it is still relevant!!! I was shouting all of this in my head, I was in a place of business of course. I was feeling suddenly overly patriotic, that is, if you can be overly patriotic. I realized as I walked away that it got my blood boiling.The whole point of this article was to point out how much we make a big deal about the flawed Founding Fathers, over glamorizing politicians that just happen to shape our country. If this journalist wrote this article to get people going, he got me good. Real good!
I love this country. I take it for granted all the time. All. The. Time. I know this. But I am also very aware how lucky I am to be an American. I was lucky enough to go to Washington D.C. a few years ago. If you have never been, you must go. It will make you appreciate being an American that much more. There is this energy in the air, that is hard to explain. It was amazing. You just have to go there.
One of the places I was able to go visit was the National Archives. You know that scene in “National Treasure” where they show the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Constitution of the United States and a few other important documents on display, well it looks like that, just not as well lit. It is dark in there. In order to keep the documents preserved, they must keep the room lowly lit. And I’m pretty sure if a flash would accidentally go off, the 8 or so guards that are standing around would dog pile you. I’m sure you would be forever on the black list of visiting the National Archives. So though it was an extreme challenge to photograph these amazing documents, I remember thinking as I slowly shuffled from historic brilliance to the next, how grateful I was to be there.
It is as faded as it looks. But it is still amazing. Still brilliant and still a part of the reason why we are the nation that we have become. In that document lies one of the most perfect lines ever written. A line called “one of the best known sentences in English language”. I believe in it, because I am able to live it daily. Daily as I take it for granted. I know. I admit it.
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.
I think one of the main reasons why I loved being in Washington, D.C. was because I was humbled. I remember the first night there, as I was getting into my hotel bed (which, side note was one of THE best beds I’ve ever slept in), before I drifted off to sleep. I waited a few minutes to make sure I could hear my sister’s rhythmic breathing that was the sign she was asleep. Worried I would wake her, I decided to stay in my bed, under my covers. I got on my knees, folded my arms and bowed my head to My Creator. I wanted to express my gratitude for the opportunity I had to come to my nation’s capital. To view the articles, buildings and monuments that reminded me that I should not take for granted my rights and privileges that I received at birth.
I had just seen the Washington Monument, the fairly newly (with consideration) erected World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial that night. I was moved. Even though I was among a large crowd of rowdy teenagers, parents trying to keep their kids in line, and a humid evening, I was moved. I stood in front of an over 12 foot memorial that displayed Lincoln’s most famous speech. The Gettysburg Address. I held back the tears as I read the stone cut wall, I didn’t want my sister to start laughing at me. (; But I was moved.
I knew in that moment that I would pray that night, that I would express in the most humblest way I knew how to God how grateful I was for where I was, not just physically but proverbially. I was blessed. I was reminded in that moment that God was real. That great men came before me, before you, to realize that they were not happy with how their life was being lived. And though we all may have our moments of feeling that way, they knew that the only way to change that was to do something themselves. I believe, without a doubt that men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, John Adams, James Wilson and even later, great men like Abraham Lincoln, were lead by the Creator to have the guts to stand for something better.
A better that I live.
I have become highly emotional over the past month. I don’t know what happen. But when the end of June started to creep up on me (June seriously flew by right?!) and I saw that magazine cover, I knew that I wanted to express in some way how much I love my country and my appreciation for where I live.
One of the last places I visited before I got on a plane, was the Arlington National Cemetery. I am so grateful I was able to visit there. As you walk, you see row upon row of headstones. And just when you think you’ve seen them all, you seen more. It was humbling. I know I have used that word more than once, but it is the only way I can describe how I felt. When I remember this sacred place, I also remember how much I shouldn’t complain. How I need to put myself back into check and remember that men and women died for the opportunities that I have. That are tarnish with self pity and selfishness.
Like I said, humbled.
Happy Independence Day.
