America is An Idea; American is An Ideal

Breakfast with Bwana

By Anil Madan

In one month, Americans will observe with reverence — and celebrate — the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

In anticipation of that day, let us look back at that Declaration and for a moment, indulge ourselves in what may be possible.

The adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, declared that the 13 American colonies constituted themselves as a new nation and severed all bonds of fealty to Great Britain.

America is An Idea. Pic – QuoteFancy

The Declaration made this remarkable pronouncement:

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, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The declaration that all men are created equal is the focus of most modern discussion of the IDEA that is America. It elicits commentary from believers as well as from detractors. For believers, it expresses the most noble of sentiments. For detractors, it provides occasion to speak of hypocrisy, of the unequal treatment of women and slaves, and of continuing discrimination, sexism, and racism.

What should not be lost is that the IDEA that all men are created equal is not necessarily an expression of fact, but of faith, aspiration, hope and a goal. 

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address began thus: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

For Lincoln too, this nation was conceived as an IDEA, the idea of Liberty. That famous declaration of equality was stated to be a mere proposition. And he conceded that the Civil War was a test of whether such a nation could survive. He called on the nation to rededicate itself to that proposition.

Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded detractors that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” — an ultimate expression of faith in the IDEA that is America from a man who championed true equality.

The rest of that remarkable declaration must not be overlooked. The idea that Governments are instituted among Men to secure the rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed is the expression of representative government which we called Democracy. It is also the expression of the purpose for which governments are created. A government that does not so serve its people has no legitimacy.

More importantly, the document that announced the American Revolution is also an endorsement of the concept of revolution: That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Fearing religious persecution by officers of the British Crown and the Church of England, Puritans fled and ultimately established their colony at Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts in 1620. Then Englishmen fleeing persecution by the court of King Charles I fled to other areas of what is now New England, and Catholics fled to what is now Maryland.

In 1754, Benjamin Franklin proposed the formation of a Grand Council to oversee affairs of the colonies for their defense, expansion and interaction with the native tribes. This was an early indicator that the colonies might unite. Nobody imagined, of course, the 50-state union that now exists.

Although the colonies were settled by people from various parts of Europe, the majority came from Great Britain and identified closely with England. Yet, regardless of their origin, once independence was secured and the British defeated, they were all Americans.

Therein lies another aspect of the IDEA of America. By the express language of the 14th Amendment, all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States. This is a declaration of the idea that anyone can become an American by naturalization and, if subject to the jurisdiction thereof, any person born in this country is a citizen.

In the 250 years since July 4, 1776, America has become a nation of nearly 350 million people. It has become the richest, most powerful country in the world, and the leader in many fields of human endeavor.

The greatest strength of all this American success is that it would not have been possible without immigrants.

The stark lesson about the IDEA that all men are created equal is that equality of opportunity is not synonymous with equality of outcome. Nor should one mistake the Declaration as promising equality of outcome. Rather, it is an expression of equality of opportunity, equality of treatment, equality of dignity, and equality of personhood.

America has been a force for good in the world, but it also has been a force of destruction. Powerful nations equipped with powerful armies and powerful weapons will be tempted to use them. We have seen this recently with Putin’s attacks on Ukraine and the US-Israel war on Iran. Over the past 250 years, the US has been involved in many wars, too many. Perhaps World War I and World War II could be classified as just wars. Not so for any of the other wars. There does seem to be a change in national sentiment as going to war no longer elicits fervent boosterism, a sort of false patriotism. Perhaps America will adopt a no-first-use policy with respect to ALL weapons, not just its nuclear arsenal.

Over the last 250 years, America has shared its technology and know-how with the rest of the world. The current retrenchment of foreign aid is a decidedly inconsistent turn given our history. As we bring Artificial Intelligence and more sophisticated Internet-based technologies to commercial use, we can only hope that the historical American spirit of sharing and compassion will once again let it be the last best hope for mankind.

If the core idea behind the Declaration of Independence is to extend to all people, then this nation’s challenge for the next 250 years is to extend the concepts of equal opportunity, equal treatment, equal dignity, and equal personhood to the people of the world. They, too, are entitled to the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. In doing so, the Idea of America can truly become an Ideal for the world.

Cheerz…
Bwana

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 5 June 2026