Reflections on the 250th Birthday of the United States of America

As we celebrate and reflect on the United States of America’s 250th Independence Day, I took some time to study and reflect on the most important document of the day, the Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4, 1776.  One commonality between how our country began and how Habitat operates is a spirit of banding together as people and neighbors to build from the ground up. We forge a foundation as a community, figuratively and literally. 

In the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers noted that they were breaking away from their old government, the monarchy of King George III and British Parliament, which governed Great Britain and Ireland at the time.  The original thirteen colonies were hit time after time by persecution, attacks, and reversals of legislation by Parliament and the king that they worked hard to develop among themselves in order to self-govern.  At one point, Parliament revoked Massachusetts’ colonial charter and installed a military governor, who dissolved the colony’s legislature and replaced it with one of his own choosing – used, in turn, to pressure the colonies into abandoning their efforts to govern themselves independently of the Crown. 

In the declaration, they noted that it was “the Right of the People to alter or to abolish [the Government], and to institute new Government” because the king had “become destructive” of “certain unalienable rights… endowed by their Creator,” including those of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”  They listed a whole host of grievances to prove to “a candid world” their reasons for breaking away.  

There are elements of the country’s founding that needed work then as now.  For example, many of the Founders held slaves while working to create their own freedom from the pressure of the monarchy to conform to a specific form of religion.  I think there always will be a need for a light to be shone upon the values our country proclaims and for taking time to reflect and ensure that “liberty and justice for all” is actually working for “all,” and that everyone in our country can take advantage of those unalienable rights in a spirit of freedom. 

Housing in the past 15-20 years has evolved to a place where a great portion of individuals and families struggle to pay their rent or mortgage and afford the repairs and maintenance that it takes to stay housed, causing artificial limits to freedom of movement within our systems and societal structures.  And yet, our vision at Habitat is that we will someday find ourselves in a world where everyone has a decent place to live.  This means we have more work to do – the work that we love. 

To our hardworking volunteers and staff, thank you for sharing your time and energy in service of the Habitat mission, your community, and your country (both the one that exists now and the one we envision in the future).  May you reflect on the values shared with others, find your pursuit of happiness, and be safe this holiday weekend. 

In partnership, 

Shannon Selah
Executive Director