Celebrating the 200th birthday of the United States in 1976 in Huron, South Dakota.
GILPIN COUNTY — The United States is having a birthday, and it is a big one: 250 years.
A birthday is a reason to celebrate. It is also a perfect time to be reflective and introspective.
It is a good time to seek a deeper understanding of ourselves as a country. What, as a country, have we accomplished that has been positive, and what have we done that has been negative? Those questions are subjective in some ways. They will also make some people squirm with discomfort.
However, if some things are not working, we have to figure out why. If a system keeps failing, or is squeaky, we have to figure out how to fix it. Blaming or creating a scapegoat is not the answer.
The Declaration of Independence says “...that all men are created equal….” However, not all our institutions, systems, laws, attitudes, and actions have lived up to this in the past, or the present. We have work to do.
Kindness, compassion, peace, and love…we hear these words often, but think: what if we went that route instead of insults, hate, abuse, slander, and war. Now that would really be something to celebrate.
The two little girls in the faded photo were celebrating the 200th birthday of the United States in 1976 in Huron, South Dakota. They were at a Bicentennial parade with their parents. There were wagons, tractors, trucks, and combines.
The girl on the left had no idea what adventures the next 50 years would bring. She was certainly not thinking years ahead as she stood in her yard that day holding the flag while her sister held the birthday cake poster that they made out of colored paper squares.
She certainly did not know that she would be living in the mountains of Colorado and writing to you today.
The celebrations that you engage in for the nation’s 250th birthday—I hope they are led with peace, compassion, and hope.
Peace and Love!
