Facing a better tomorrow

This Fourth of July, Americans in Central Washington and across the country are contending with a host of financial worries. Red-hot inflation has contributed to a skyrocketing cost of living and continues to wreak havoc on financial markets, the American supply chain, and Americans’ pocketbooks. As the country deals with record-high gas prices and sparse shelves at the grocery store, it is more important than ever to call to mind what it is that makes our country great—and how we can return to greatness once more. Independence Day gives us just that opportunity.

Since the beginning of our republic, Independence Day has been celebrated with parades and ceremonies—a loud and proud declaration of our commitment to freedom and the principles outlined in our nation’s founding documents: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The risk undertaken by our forefathers is often hard to fathom. To stake their lives on their challenge to the greatest empire in the world and establish a nation rid of monarchy and afresh with liberty is admirable beyond words. The light of the United States stands testament to their successful establishment of a representative, constitutional republic that recognizes and protects our God-given, inalienable rights.

It is perhaps best stated by President Ronald Reagan during his 1981 inaugural address, when Americans were facing a period of economic suffering not unlike the one we face today. “The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we as Americans have the capacity now, as we’ve had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.”

Pinning the blame on excessive government intervention, President Reagan remained hopeful because of the promise of the nation and its foundation of undying freedom: “If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth.” President Reagan knew what we in Central Washington see around us every day: that America is exceptional, distinguishing itself from the rest of the world by granting unequivocal liberty to her people, harnessing the ultimate power of the individual to unlock prosperity for all. On the Fourth of July, we pay homage to the founders who pioneered this exceptionalism and laid the groundwork for these great United States we enjoy today.

In the United States, “We the People” have grown as a beacon of hope in the world by harnessing our strengths through liberty and a government limited to the confines of the Constitution. Even during a time of economic ailment and financial stress, the Fourth of July is a reminder of the core ideas that have made this country so great. As Central Washington and the nation at-large gather as a community to celebrate these ideals, we remain grateful for the privilege that life in this nation guarantees and hopeful that, when we unite as one, we will turn the corner to face a better tomorrow.