Consent Of The Governed

...to secure these rights governments are instituted among men
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...
-- Thomas Jefferson

Each year, on July 4th, National Public Radio's Morning Edition reads the Declaration of Independence aloud. The moment makes the morning stand out from every other. I'm struck by the tall order placed by the Declaration of Independence as it conjures a vision of a nation and its people.

I'm a sucker for lofty ambitions however the particular aspirations expressed by the Declaration strike a deep chord with me. I don't consider the country to have lived up to its creed but I admire and adopt its goals. I consider myself a patriot essentially. I always have.

Putting my sense of patriotism into words runs the risk of sounding anemic and offensive in certain circles, and like soft-minded sappiness in others. But here goes... I do not withhold my love for something, in this case a country, just because its renderings are or have been imperfect. At the same time loving a thing does not preclude me from speaking of its failed policies or practices.

I like the trimmings of the holiday well enough. I like parades, cookouts, and three-day weekends. I'm even a good enough sport on game days to attempt that part in the national-anthem where we all squeak about the red glare of rockets. But its the Declaration itself, the moment I hear it read aloud on the radio, serves as the point my day plumbs from.

Whatever the holiday brings you, and wherever you are this Friday: Happy Fourth!