~ As U.S. Turns 250, National Pride Becomes More Partisan
Del Beccaro: Civilizations are born of Faith – a faith in God and a faith in a civilization’s purpose. For America, that purpose was an unprecedented democratization of economic and political opportunity. In doing so, the United States changed all of history by exalting the possibilities of the individual over the absolute rule of a few.
In time, as wealth, safety and scientific knowledge accumulates, the sacrifices and work of the Founding generations are either forgotten or denied their value by a growing group of skeptics. Ultimately, civilizations die in doubt – of both purpose and religious faith. As that latter dynamic grows, so too does the loss of national pride among the cynics. Overall, at the beginning of a civilization, a people will do anything to survive, at the end, there will be those who apologize for its success.
Even so, that can never change the contributions to mankind of the American Civilization. That candle of knowledge and hope can never be extinguished.
