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We’ve all watched the scene from ‘Good Will Hunting” in which Will (Matt Damon) sticks up for his friend, Chuckie (Ben Affleck), in the bar while he is being belittled by a Harvard student. During the process, Will references a book by Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States. Well, in my first year of college, I had a professor assign that same book, and I can vouch for Will Hunting’s assessment: It really will “knock your socks off”.
What that book taught me above all else is that the making of America wasn’t a smooth transition. The colonists weren’t in agreement throughout most of the Revolution, and in fact, going to war with Great Britain in the first place wasn’t a popular idea. But it showed something else as well, something Howard Zinn doesn’t touch on as much in his book. It showed that America was an ideal long before it was a country.
Many of the colonists came to America with hopes and dreams of a better life than they had on the other side of the ocean. They struck out with little to nothing in the way of assets and attempted to build a life with their bare hands. As colonies were settled, communities created, and ways of life established, something new emerged – a society.
America represented the blood sweat and tears of those who braved crossing an ocean with the simple dream of giving their family a better life. And sure, like any community, there were those who tried to turn a profit by slighting their neighbors. There were those who committed crimes against those in the community. And there were those who wanted to rule. But behind all of that, there were Americans chasing their dreams, and they found a way past their squabbles to make it work.
And then along came a revolution. Differences were cast aside, and colonists, consisting of farmers, indentured servants, slaves, and the aristocratic alike all banded together to overthrow one of the strongest military forces the world had seen up to that point. American ideals proved stronger than that which had divided colonists up to that point.
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We saw it happen as recently as September 11th, 2001. We came together for the greater good of America.
And I am here to tell you that it can happen again, today. Our country is once again gridlocked in debate and disagreement with the future and lives of our citizens on the line. America is stronger than a president, political party, or even its citizens as individuals. America is a set of ideals that its people have bled for over and over again. And it has endured.
But this time, rather than letting more blood spill on the ground, let’s come together before that happens. Let’s sit down, let’s talk, and remember that ultimately we all want the same things as not only the first immigrants did, but those who came before them as well. We want our families to be safe. We want to go home to them every night. And we want to survive.
So “How do you like them apples?”
#WordsThatMatter
Weekly Pursuit of Happiness
In fitting fashion, I learned that opening up and talking to those you love is the most important aspect of any relationship. Just like the solution for America is to create an open and healthy dialogue, that’s the solution at home as well.
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