American democracy well worth celebrating today

In the 241 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, America has remained steadfastly true to its nation-defining ideals.

It’s not always been easy or without pain, anger and bloodshed, but in those 21/2 centuries, the United States has worked consistently to slowly but surely expand its commitment to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness to an increasingly large segment of our increasingly diverse populace.

In that spirit of commitment and honor to the intricate workings of our Constitution and representative democracy, we encourage all to join in today’s daylong national birthday party. At parades, barbecues and fireworks exhibitions, all of us have good reason to show off our robust pride in country.

First and foremost, we should take time today to remember the freedoms that Independence Day embodies and how we as a nation achieved them.

We achieved them through hard-fought battles with British imperialists. We maintained them through adverse times of Civil War, world wars and terror wars.

Through it all, we’ve stood tall to nurture the freedoms bequeathed to us in the Declaration and U.S. Constitution.

But in the spirt of the freedom-broadening strides we’ve made as a nation, there still remains room to evolve closer toward that “more perfect union” that our Founding Fathers had envisioned.

WOUNDED EAGLE AS METAPHOR

Take the extremely rare discovery over this holiday weekend of a wounded bald eagle in the heart of our nation’s capital. In some ways, it captures the mood of some discouraged Americans on this Independence Day.

Just as the bald eagle – our proud, strong and majestic national emblem – found in the southeast section of Washington, D.C., on Saturday struggled to fly, some Americans say they, too, struggle to find much uplifting about the state of America’s democracy today.

Some point to concerted efforts to dilute voter participation. Others argue that terrorist threats, resurgent racism and xenophobia are ripping away at some of our cherished freedoms.

A study on global democracies included in a Sunday Associated Press story in The Vindicator bears out those and other frustrations. For the first time in history, the United States has been demoted from a “full democracy” to a “flawed democracy,” according to 2017 findings of the Economist Intelligence Unit.

That rating is based on each democracy’s score in five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation and political culture.

“The U.S. has been teetering on the brink of becoming a flawed democracy for several years, and even if there had been no presidential election in 2016, its score would have slipped below 8.00 [minimum score for full democracy], the EIU report said.

DEMOCRACIES ARE MESSY

While that downgrade may sound disheartening, it should not be terribly troubling. One always must keep in mind this absolute truth about the very nature of democratic governments: They are inherently messy.

Sir Winston Churchill, former prime minister of Great Britain, reminded the world of the imperfections of democracy 70 years ago:

“Many forms of government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried.”

In the U.S., for example, Americans over the years have confronted a host of imperfections and flaws – slavery, international conflicts and wars, civil-rights inequities and domestic and international terror to name a few. But with strong will and ardent commitments to improve, each of those blemishes has been lifted with our democracy coming out all the stronger.

Yes, just as that wounded bald eagle is surviving and has potential to soar again, U.S. citizens, too, can muster up that same vigilance and resilience that have so long characterized the American way. In so doing, we can defend, protect and strengthen the very fabric of democracy that all of us should celebrate proudly today.