Reports of America’s death are greatly exaggerated
SACRAMENTO – Americans are this weekend celebrating the day the Second Continental Congress declared itself independent from Great Britain by adopting the Declaration of Independence in 1776, thus building the foundation for one of the freest and most prosperous nations in history. It is of course our country’s most joyous national holiday.
Across the pond, the Brits still jokingly refer to July 4 as Treason Day, given that the declaration’s 56 signers (who probably didn’t sign the document until August 2) committed the textbook definition of treason: betraying one’s country by attempting to overthrow the government. “We must all hang together,” Benjamin Franklin said, “or, assuredly, we will all hang separately.”
The Declaration still makes compelling reading: “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another … they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” My favorite case against the British “tyrant” is he “sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”
As usual, we’ll marvel at the fireworks, fly the stars and stripes and attend parades. This year’s holiday, however, comes amidst an unusually divisive period. The U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on abortion and guns and the January 6 committee’s testimony about a former president’s ugly attempt to overthrow the election results are just the latest examples of a nation that seems to be fraying at the seams.
Blue and Red America are heading in different directions. Americans talk openly about dissolving the political bands that have held us together. The ruling party (Republicans) in the second most populous state recently approved this platform: “Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto.”
Secession also is popular on social media (as is every zany nostrum). Not long ago, I was the minority view on a long Facebook string about a coming American civil war. I pointed to the devastation wrought by our country’s last attempt at such a thing – a war that claimed the lives of 2 percent of the population, which would be 6.6 million people today.
Facebook venting doesn’t equal a movement, but serious voices on the political right are building the intellectual case for a national divorce. The Washington Post is the most mainstream of mainstream media, yet it concluded last year that the idea of a new American secession is not “that far-fetched.”
It quoted a Claremont Institute fellow: “If we disagree on these big things … what strong force could possibly reunite us? Or, to ask a question that’s perhaps more pertinent – maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon: what force could keep us from coming apart?” That’s odd coming from an institute dedicated to preserving Abraham Lincoln’s legacy, but it’s a sign of the times.
A University of Virginia poll, the Post noted, found 52 percent of Trump voters “somewhat” inclined to forming a new country of Republican-leaning states. And we know that Republicans remain devoted to Donald Trump, even after he attempted to destroy one of the hallmarks of the American nation: the peaceful transition of power.
So is it over? On this year’s Independence Day, are we celebrating a crumbling edifice – a grand and powerful structure that no longer has a solid foundation? Are Americans so hostile to one another, so at odds over the meaning of a “more perfect union” (as the Constitution put it), that there’s nothing left to do other than take up arms and aim them at our neighbors? I don’t think so.
Put in historical perspective, these are not particularly horrifying times. The economy is a mess, as we face a level of inflation not seen since the 1970s. Even by that standard, it’s not that terrible. I still remember gas lines and interest rates of 16 percent. I recall (as a kid) urban riots and crime waves. Our nation survived much worse – from Jim Crow laws to the Great Depression to myriad wars and, well, that Civil War.
Division is nothing new. It’s part of the human condition. Is our government too big and oppressive? Of course. King George III had nothing on our current federal and state governments, which continue to erect a multitude of new offices that harass our people. But nothing useful can be gained by wishing for a dissolution of our country.
In an 1852 Independence Day address as a true dissolution loomed, the former slave and social reformer Frederick Douglas called on Americans to stand by the Declaration’s principles “in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost.” Despite “the dark picture I have this day presented, of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country.”
These times are far less foreboding. Do not despair. Enjoy the holiday without reservation.
Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute and a member of the Southern California News Group editorial board. Write to him at sgreenhut@rstreet.org.