Hooray for 250!
Wave the banners. Strike up the band. The Good Old USA turns 250 this month!
Folks who grew up in the current era probably wouldn’t believe it, but the success and continued existence of this greatest nation the world has ever known wasn’t always a sure bet. Actually, back in 1776, political experts around the world considered the whole idea of self-governance via the concept of a constitutional republic as an odds-on favorite for failure. How in the world could a ragtag bunch of rebellious colonists who somehow managed to drive the British from their shores ever have a snowballs chance?
Well, so much for all that sort of nonsense. But the road wasn’t always easy. You might recall an enormous test of the founding concepts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness during the 1860s – the Great American Civil War. Abraham Lincoln spoke of it in his famous Gettysburg Address. “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” Even eighty-seven years later, hosts of supposedly learned folks were still saying, “See, I told you so!”
Here in the year 2026, the concepts of our founding are still being tested, and I am amazed at the number of folks who have enjoyed great wealth through celebrity are threatening to leave this country, supposedly out of political rancor. I say, “Go! But on your way out, please tell us where else on earth you could have been more fortunate.”
I was raised in a very patriotic family. My father was a USMC veteran of the Korean War Era. As youngsters, he taught us the love of our nation and respect for our flag. I can still recall the American flag waving and strains of the Marines Hymn and National Anthem blaring from the crackly speaker of an old Decca phonograph on the Fourth of July. If your upbringing might have been different, please excuse me while I salute the American flag.
We are by and large a very coddled society, as compared to our forebears. But that aside, where else on earth could we enjoy the level of prosperity that allows participation in pastimes such as sportfishing? Never forget how blessed we are to be Americans and citizens of the Greatest Nation the World Has Ever Known!
