RWL 4th of July Special
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! Happy birthday, America! This is a special Independence Day edition of the RWL. Independence Day is perhaps my favorite holiday of the year. I love Christmas because I get it is a fun way to spend a day with my family, but Independence Day makes me reflect on how blessed I am to be the son of immigrants who found their way to the Dream of America.
To celebrate America, we have to begin at the Founding:
“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…
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
Here’s the transcript of the whole Declaration: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
Below are three important historical pieces for your Independence Day reflection. Enjoy!
(pic above is of the Liberty Bell - I took it many years ago when I went to visit Philadelphia)
Read
What: The Federalist Papers, FEDERALIST NO. 51, The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments
https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/text-51-60
Why: Because it has one of the great quotes on the nature of free government ever:
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.
The more I learn and observe about politics, the more convinced I am that the American system of government works precisely because it makes the populace essentially ungovernable, except by consent. Our constitution was written by men who believed that men naturally abuse power when they have it, and that the only way to ensure justice was to pit power against power. And they were right.
The ahistorical thinking of our current moment, and the lack of respect to the genius of our Founders, is tragic. I am not an expert by any means on the Federalist Papers, but these are documents written by people who wished to hand down a legacy of freedom. It is why people still clamor to come to America. When we finally get to the point where the government, especially the Federal government, has the power to actually govern, I am afraid the American experiment will be over.
Watch
What: Reading of the Declaration of Independence
Why: because it’s cool to listen to professional actors dramatically read our great founding document - “A host of celebrities including Mel Gibson, Whoopie Goldberg, and Michael Douglas perform a live reading of the Declaration of Independence in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA.”
Have you ever read the Declaration all the way through? Even if you have, this is a great way to listen to it again.
Listen
What: Walt Whitman, I Hear America Singing (1 min)
https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010968/
Why: I’ve been slowly reading Walt Whitman’s collection Leaves of Grass. Click through on the link to read his full bio, but in short, Whitman is considered one of the first truly American voices in poetry. In the 18th and into the 19th century, American art was generally derided as derivative of European culture, and thus second rate. Whitman broke free of the European influence with his free verse, and has shaped American poetry ever since. Born in Long Island, it is generally accepted he was gay. He was profoundly influenced by the horrors of slavery and served as a nurse during the Civil War. Despite what he knew of the tragedies of slavery, he knew America was something new in human history, something emerging and becoming and he was living through a historic moment. His love of America is such a wonderful curative for the vitriol of the last several years.
The poem is read by Billy Collins, former US Poet Laureate, and a personal favorite of mine.
I Hear America Singing
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
If you’re looking for a searchable archive, you can see my draft folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jwGLdjsb1WKtgH_2C-_3VvrYCtqLplFO?usp=sharing
Finally, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://markbonica.substack.com/welcome
See you next Friday!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Associate Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
'It is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.' - Gandalf (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)