‘Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all’

It was the Second Continental Congress that approved a resolution July 2, 1776, to legally separate the 13 colonies from Great Britain. Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed the resolution the month prior.

Having voted for independence, Congress next focused its efforts on crafting a statement explaining the decision. It was that “Declaration of Independence,” finalized July 4, 1776, that we celebrate as a nation this weekend.

Among its signers was John Adams, who seemed to grasp the weight of that historic moment and what it would come to mean to generations of his countrymen.

In a July 2, 1776, letter to his wife, Abigail, he prognosticated elements of our modern annual commemoration:

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

And thus was born the United States of America and this celebration of national pride.

In many ways, Independence Day weekend celebrations are big family reunions that ask us to come together and celebrate all that is good about living in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

We stand together as brothers and sisters of all stripes and salute the flag as it passes, hand over heart. With one voice we will “pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Too often, the words of this pledge cross our lips with little thought spent pondering their meaning. We divide ourselves into groups and subgroups of those groups, and in the dividing we forget we are one group — “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

These words are more than platitudes to be memorized and recited, especially in light of recent historic Supreme Court decisions. “With liberty and justice for all” is a challenge laid out for us by those patriots who committed an act of anarchy against Great Britain when they declared those 13 colonies independent of British rule.

Now is the time to celebrate what unites us. As we wrap up our long holiday weekend, it is a good time to reflect, to remember that we are all Americans and all tasked by our forefathers with living as “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”