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What has been called the “Great American Experiment” will celebrate its 246th anniversary on Monday, July 4th. Although the Second Continental Congress actually voted to declare independence from the British Empire on July 2nd, the document was “adopted” on July 4th. Reference to our country as an “experiment” is acknowledgement that the idea, formation and existence of democratic rule is unusual, extremely difficult to maintain and, although lauded by many, practiced by few.
In scientific theory, experiments begin with a hypothesis that extrapolates from a known position or set of facts toward an expected result. From observation and experience, reaction to an action or group of actions is anticipated and tested. For instance, when you strike a match, the combination of friction and chemical element (phosphorous) creates enough heat to produce a flame. We know this will probably happen every time we strike a match since this process has been repeated many times and produces a consistent result.
Although the heat and protection of fire is critical for survival, especially in harsh climates, finding a controlled and portable method of containing it was a slow, laborious process. It wasn’t until 1905 that Parisian Jean Chancel created a crude semblance of a match that used a small asbestos bottle of sulfuric acid, creating toxic fumes in the process. Through a variety of iterations, matches finally arrived in their “safety match” form in the mid-19th century. Need and demand fueled the search on an awkward, dangerous and bumpy path toward a finally successful result. Most experiments – physical and social – advance in a similar manner.
Social experiments are especially complex since the variety of human emotions, interactions and proclivities are enormous and often unpredictable. Formation of a standard set of values depend on the goodwill and agreement of many conflicting and competing interests. While in the example of a match, we can reasonably rely on the action of its components, the response of people can vary widely depending on a multitude of factors including contemporary societal pressure and political climate.
It’s a long, bumpy road toward a “more perfect union” and many of us are fortunate to travel at least a part of it as citizens through birth or naturalization. We can take solace in the midst of an erratic, confusing and cacophonous time that even highly successful experiments suffer false starts, failures and setbacks as part of the process. Colonials of the 18th century speculated that a “modern” democratic government could be formed that would rely on its citizens for guidance rather than a despot. Their vision, while profound, is cloaked by language, attitudes and mores of the time. The challenge we face today is interpretation of the intent behind the thoughts and actions of the nation’s founders.
The desire and need for portable fire drove experimentation through an extensive, mixed bag of methods and ideas, some plausible and others fanciful, even dangerous. So too has our “Great American Experiment” traveled a circuitous path, far from complete or, at times, even coherent, but carries the hopes and dreams of its progenitors. We must continue to strive for a land of opportunity, freedom from hate, fear, bigotry, divisiveness and strive for common goals and purpose.
“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.”
Happy Fourth of July! The experiment continues…
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