Tom Finneran: Birthday Prayers, Birthday Wishes
Friday, July 04, 2014
Today is OUR birthday. America’s birthday. 238 years old today. That’s not a lot of years when compared to various empires but as a point of reference I’d remind you of the Soviet Union, 1922-1991. Or the “thousand year” German Third Reich, 1933-1945…and yes, the word OUR is emphasized for we are all Americans- black, white, gay, straight, rich, poor, young, old, believers, non-believers, Democrats and Republicans- three hundred million strong, protected by a brave and patriotic few and blessed beyond words to live in a free country.
Birthday wishes and birthday prayers are always appropriate, always in fashion, so here goes.
To America: May you always be a force for good in the world, stopping would-be bullies and slave masters from their nasty deeds; the world’s weak and frightened people tremble and pray for a confident America; the world’s bullies and slave masters fear the same; may the former smile; may the latter lose sleep.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTTo America: May you find a way to address the pathologies of race relations in America; having twice elected a black man to the highest office in the land, white America now senses that race should be in the nation’s rearview mirror. Yet black unemployment, black education, and black family life are as bleak as ever. Resentments accumulate, on both sides. And six years after the election of President Obama, the landscape is as depressing as ever. The intended beneficiaries of the War on Poverty have become its victims. May people of good faith, on both sides, find a way to help America heal this gaping wound.
To America: May your public schools recover their footing as places of quiet, serious, and steady learning. No more student assaults on teachers. No more administrators pushing for unearned A’s and B’s and for the social promotion of ill-prepared students. Let’s have less concern with little Johnny’s self-esteem and more focus on English, math, history, geography, and civics.
To America: May your colleges and universities stop the economic strangulation of American families. The very notion of college tuitions steadily climbing beyond $60,000 a year is appalling. Couple that singular absurdity with the explosion in “grievance studies” majors and you have a formula for very high unemployment and very low employer confidence in many graduates. Who needs the workplace hysteria and litigation risk that comes with someone who speaks the language of “micro-aggressions?”
To America: May your elected officials reflect humbly on the Constitution and its limits on governmental power. Our “founding fathers” were quite flawed individually, but infinitely wise in their collective assessment of human nature. To them, the concentration of power in one person was terrifying. Thus our system of checks and balances was born, along with frequent elections. No monarchical divine right of kings, no hereditary titles, no nobility, nor any official state religion were to clog the arteries of infant America. Rather, the responsibilities of the federal government were limited, and the states were left relatively free to govern themselves. There’s an inherent modesty in these founding principles, which seems to clash with the swaggering personalities of some of our public officials. May modesty win out.
To Americans: May we stop asking Uncle Sam for “free stuff”. There is no such thing. We either pay now or, even worse, we pay later. Actually the multi-year national bender we’ve been on guarantees that our lazy spendthrift habits will become our legacy to our kids. That’s not nice. That’s not wise. That’s not American. That’s plain old crazy.
And finally, to borrow from President Kennedy’s stirring challenge to all Americans- Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. JFK’s words bring to mind four quintessentially American moments in world history, memorable moments that should cause all Americans to swell with proper pride. On this day, our nation’s birthday, consider these events:
Harry Truman’s unequivocal embrace of the Marshall Plan, designed to rebuild the many nations shattered by World War II. No greater act of national spirit and generosity exists.
JFK’s challenge to put a man on the moon. It was a technological leap to do “the impossible”. And we did it.
LBJ’s leadership on civil rights and voting rights. Long overdue, LBJ, a Southerner, maneuvered like a masterful pol and addressed America’s moral failing.
Ronald Reagan’s inspiring challenge to the Soviet machine. Recall the words—“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” One of America’s greatest moments.
So Happy Birthday America. You deserve it. And may you have many more.
Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio.
Related Articles
- Tom Finneran: America’s New Grand Canyon
- Tom Finneran: The Crime of the Century
- Tom Finneran: On Oprah, Barkley, and Bullying
- Tom Finneran: Thanksgiving Leftovers
- Tom Finneran: Just in Time for Christmas, Part One
- Tom Finneran: The Fuse Is Lit
- Tom Finneran: The Death of Common Sense in American Education
- Tom Finneran: Obama’s Dominoes
- Tom Finneran: From Russia With Love
- Tom Finneran: To Boldly Go…
- Tom Finneran: The Pope Hits A Home Run
- Tom Finneran: Just in Time for Christmas, Part Two
- Tom Finneran: Just in Time for Christmas, Part Three
- Tom Finneran: A Mighty Fleet, a Righteous Cause, an Unbearable Sadness
- Tom Finneran: I’ll Have a Koch
- Tom Finneran: America’s Big Mistake
- Tom Finneran: Sweet and Sour
- Tom Finneran: John Edwards Was Half Right
- Tom Finneran: The Whiny Women of Wellesley
- Tom Finneran: Christmas Day, Christmas Daily
- Tom Finneran: President Obama’s New Year
- Tom Finneran: Dummies on Smartphones
- Tom Finneran: Today’s Trio: the Patriots, Marriage, and Sex
