In 1776, 13 American colonies officially declared their independence from Britain. The reasons were simple:
Taxation without representation: The British government imposed various taxes on the colonies, such as the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, and the Tea Act, without granting the colonists representation in the British Parliament.
Restrictive trade policies: The British government implemented mercantilist policies that placed restrictions on colonial trade. Acts like the Navigation Acts required the colonies to trade primarily with Britain and imposed tariffs on certain goods. Colonists felt these policies limited their economic potential and hampered their ability to engage in free trade with other nations.
Intolerable Acts: In response to the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed a series of punitive measures known as the Intolerable Acts in 1774. These acts closed the port of Boston, altered the Massachusetts colonial government, and allowed British officials accused of crimes to be tried in Britain rather than in the colonies. The Intolerable Acts were perceived as oppressive and further eroded colonial liberties.
Political and philosophical ideals: Influenced by Enlightenment ideas, many American colonists embraced concepts such as natural rights, individual liberty, and self-governance. They believed that government should be based on consent and that the colonists should have the right to govern themselves.
Growing sense of American identity: Over time, a distinct American identity and culture developed within the colonies. As they faced common challenges and shared experiences, colonists began to view themselves as Americans rather than solely as British subjects.
We know the history. We fought the revolutionary war and won our independence. On this July 4th, 2023, we are celebrating our 247th Independence Day. It has been a tumultuous 247-years. We have grown bigger with more land. We have made some great strides in human rights by abolishing slavery and passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We have become one of the most powerful and wealthiest nations in the world from a capitalist free market predicated on the American ideals upon which our country was founded.
Like most government holidays, we can easily fall into the mode of parades, lighting fireworks, barbeques, drinking, and enjoying time off from work. And yet, I struggle getting into a celebratory mood this July 4th. You can call me unpatriotic if you wish… but my struggle is the opposite of that. I believe the United States of America is one of the greatest countries in the world. Our position in the world is no accident.
We had been relatively united in most of our American ideals as a country. We had a major civil war in 1860 to successfully resolve a major unfairness in our country. We have had other political skirmishes since then to make strides forward as a country. Today I see two Americas. Maybe even more than that.
Very recently the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on four landmark cases to uphold four ideals:
Abortion rules and regulations belong to the states; and there is no explicit right to privacy outlined in the U.S. Constitution to prevent a state from regulating abortion.
Discrimination based on ethnicity to benefit historically disadvantaged people groups is still discrimination and is violating the American ideal of equal treatment of all people.
Forcing an entrepreneur to provide a creative work product for a cause that violates that individual’s belief is a violation of the freedom of speech of that entrepreneur.
Paying off college student loan debt is an overreach of the executive branch of government since the power of funding such large amounts of spending is given to the legislative branch of government.
Lawyers on both sides of these decisions will argue for and against these decisions. I get it. Each one of these decisions has good pro and con arguments. Had the Supreme Court had more Democratic Party nominated justices, these decisions would have swung the other way.
This isn’t something new. We have had a divided country from the start. At first, the division was between how much power the federal government should have versus the amount of power of individual states. This division eventually erupted into a Civil War when the abolitionist Abraham Lincoln was elected. Abraham Lincoln was also the first president elected in the new Republican Party. Since this time, Republicans and Democrats have battled to win the hearts and minds of the American people.
Debate, discussion, and conflict can be a healthy part of our democracy. Different sides of an argument can be debated, and we can make better decisions by better understanding all sides of a topic. Unfortunately, we are experiencing polarization. Polarization doesn’t serve our country. It only serves whichever side is winning the most votes. You’d think this is a good thing since most people should make the right decisions. It’s not.
Let me explain.
The way Democrats and/or Republicans win elections is that they identify voting blocs of people who are most likely to support their ideals. Republicans may speak to small business owners who hate excess taxation. Democrats speak to minorities who believe they are being disenfranchised by the majority. There is no attempt to seek a middle ground between these groups. Instead, political parties spin every political situation in a way that grows their base of supporters. Democrats will paint Republicans as racists to win as many Black votes as possible. Republicans will paint Democrats as spendthrifts to win as many fiscal conservatives as possible. Each party has managed to infect 30% of the population with their way of thinking.
In a primary election where Democrats vote for their Democratic nominee, this 30% turns into 60% and is enough to nominate the most left-leaning Democratic politician. The same thing is happening in the Republican Primary. The entire country now gets to vote for a left-leaning politician vs a right-leaning politician that only 30% of the electorate likes.
This polarization is then exacerbated by political party majorities.
In the end, polarization ends in stalemate, or extreme legislation. Neither of these results is what the majority of Americans want.
Polarization is Un-American
On this Independence Day, I think it may be important to better understand what separates us from all other countries as Americans. We are all different. We come from different backgrounds. We are made up of different ethnicities from every different country in the world. Our differences can be our strengths. If we become polarized, our differences become our weaknesses. By weakness, I mean America will cease to exist. We will either become the thing we were trying to escape back in 1776… another authoritarian government that treads on individual liberties in the name of some perceived common good; or we will become a fragmented group of states warring amongst ourselves that gives way to the next world power who is united against us.
We Can do Better
I don’t think it is too late. I see both sides of the difficult political ideals we value as Americans. We won’t agree on everything. That’s okay.
Being an American doesn’t mean giving up your own ideals to conform to a dictator.
Being an American does mean following laws that are enacted by law-makers.
Being American means protesting laws that you feel are unfair, unjust, or un-American.
Being an American means engaging with others you may disagree with to form laws that serve and protect us all. Not laws that unduly favor one group of people.
Being an American means embracing an economy that thrives on achievement, risk, and success.
Being an American means investing a portion of our wealth in projects for the public good.
Being an American is being grateful for your own success enough to help others who have not been as fortunate as you.
I have hope for this great country. While we’ve made mistakes, America is truly a unique opportunity to get self-government right. My heart breaks when we argue and put each other down the way we have. I know that deep down, we all want the same thing. We want to “Be Americans”. If we can act like it, maybe Independence Day will be a day of celebration… instead of a day of struggle.
I am so moved by the problems of polarization; I am in the process of publishing a book that uncovers the details of controversial political topics in each chapter. Here is a link to a page that describes this new book in more detail along with a sign-up to be notified when the book is published in 2023: Political Polarization Book.
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