By Dorothy Meindok
The Post Newspaper Veterans Consultant
Happy 247th Birthday America!!! This holiday celebration is far more than hot dogs and fireworks (although that’s some of the fun for certain,) it is tied specifically to our nation’s Declaration of Independence from the control of Britain’s George III & his tyrannical oversight upon the colonies of America. There are many reasons people made the Atlantic voyage but one shared core among all of the various, diverse reasons is FREEDOM. Freedom from oppressions, political folly, financial abuses, and social ceilings created by aristocracy, freedoms of and from mandated religions, taxes, the list goes on with one identifiable common denominator: freedom.
Freedom is exactly what America stands for, is known for and it is the one thing that makes me honored to have been made, born and bred in America.
The sacred document begins “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”[1]
No, the founding fathers didn’t just wake up one day and decide to separate, in fact there were many proper, well-intentioned & diplomatic attempts to avoid such drastic measures as outlined in the Declaration, “In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”[2]
The grievances raised by little sister America were oft given the appearance of import but were ignored by big brother Britain, nonetheless. Thus, America convened the Second Continental Congress which penned and signed America’s official document declaring independence from what had become a dysfunctional and toxic family environment.
Now, for almost 250 years, people from all over the world have followed suit, seeking freedom on the shores and at the borders of America with hopes of becoming citizens of this great and powerful nation. My family is no different and both most impactful men in my life, my father and maternal grandfather, found themselves orphaned children & then later, men without countries due to world wars; when given a choice to return to a country oppressed and unrecognizable to them, each chose the United States of America to immigrate to. My grandfather served in the United States Coast Guard, just as many others serve our armed forces today, to better his chances at becoming a United States citizen. My seafaring father, who rather enjoyed the freedom of the sea and its natural, international fluidity among hundreds of nations chose America after falling in love with a Texas woman, my mother. Both men, when given a choice, chose America as the country to serve, support and raise their families because America stood for freedom. Here, their family members could at least have choices in things such as religion, education, careers, et al, over what was then available to the family members still living in their war-torn homelands. They chose America, not only for themselves, but for their future families. As a recipient of that choice, born and bred in America, having heavily traveled this great big blue marble as a military member, ambassador, and civilian – I can’t thank them enough for choosing USA and giving me, a mixed heritage, intelligent spirit, opinionated female the best chance for success in a world just breaching consciousness and in many places, still starving for basic equality, equity & freedom.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. “[3]
Happiest Birthday America!
Enjoy the long weekend, be safe & celebrate how far we have come as a nation! May the Fourth be with you!
Dorothy D. Meindok
An American Girl
[1] https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
Dorothy Meindok is The Post Newspaper’s Veterans Consultant. Ms. Meindok served her nation in the United States Navy and is currently a practicing lawyer advocating for our nation’s veterans. Her column appears on Sundays.
