By Jerry duPhily
Happy Birthday, America.
I’d say you don’t look a day over 200, but you’d see right through the insincerity. You do, indeed, look your age.
And why wouldn’t you? We Americans are exhausting.
We all nodded when you declared that all men are created equal — then proceeded to behave as though the opposite were true. Like headstrong toddlers, we eventually come around, but not before decades of blood, sweat, and tears. A more perfect union? Yeah, we’re still working on that.
But as they say, perfection is the enemy of the good — and much good has been achieved during this two-and-a-half-century odyssey. Most importantly, many, many still believe in your mission.
I’ve seen that patriotism firsthand as our sister company, Event Allies, helped plan America 250 celebrations in Historic New Castle, the City of Wilmington, and the Wilmington Riverfront.
I felt that same sense of inspiration when I took a sneak peek at the guest essays in this issue — 250 Words for America 250. Don’t take my word for it; read these moving contributions for yourself.
We are a flawed people. Ego, greed, insecurity — they shape so many of our actions. And in the pursuit of quick solutions — an easy way forward — we sometimes buy the nonsense, acquiescing to behavior we’d normally find abhorrent. After all these years, we’re still susceptible to the panderer.
The truth is, there are no quick fixes for hard problems. And this American experiment — well, it’s hard.
Still, we can’t lose sight of the good in our ambitious pursuit of a more perfect union. And we can’t forget our history — we’ve faced trying times before.
“In our finest hours… the soul of the country manifests itself in an inclination to open our arms rather than to clench our fists,” writes Jon Meacham in The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels.
I’m seeing more open arms as we mark this semiquincentennial. Not all arms, mind you — but enough to keep the faith.
So, happy 250th, America. No one said this would be easy.
