By Paul H. Betancourt, Special to WaterWrights.net
July 4, 2024
The 4th of July is here. We will be enjoying hot dogs and fireworks. But, here is the question I have been thinking about for a while- What if the American Revolution had never happened?
I get it, there is a lot of criticism of the US. If I was on the outside looking in, I would be scratching my head. Things are pretty crazy here. Our national debt is past our eyeballs. We are slogging toward an election no one is really excited about. But, again- what if the American Revolution never happened?
The 20th Century has been called the American Century. In 1900 we were a growing, but minor player on the world stage. By 1999 we were the sole remaining global super power. What would have happened in WWI if we had not gone “Over There”? Who was left to stop The Nazis in Europe and Imperial Japan in Asia during WWII? What is the US was not there to stand up to the Soviets? Would we be speaking German? Japanese? Russian?
We are now almost a quarter of the way through the 21st Century. (Boy that went quick. It feels like it was just yesterday we were worried about Y2K. Remember that?) Look at the world stage and take the US out. We have Russian in Ukraine. China is threatening Taiwan. Iran just launched 300 missiles and drones at Israel.
What About Our Rights?
Those are the international issues. What about our rights? What would be the status of our rights if the American Revolution never happened? A question for all the protestors- What are the rights for women and the LGBT community in the real authoritarian societies. How strong are minority rights in some of these other countries? Just ask the Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province in western China.
Our civil liberties- our protections from the power of the government-were written out in the Bill of Rights by the Founders. Look how difficult it is to protect our rights when they are codified. Imagine how difficult things would be without a written Bill of Rights. The 14th Amendment, which is the foundation of our civil rights, was written in 1866. It still took over fifty years for women to get the right to vote. Imagine that fight if the American Revolution had never happened.
Did you notice no one is immigrating TO China? Where is the tide of immigration going? Southern Hemisphere to Northern Hemisphere. Eastern Europe to Western Europe. Western Europe to North America. East Coast to West Coast. (I think they all want to come to Kerman, but that may just be my imagination.) Immigrants are voting with their feet. While people here protest thinking we are horrible, the immigrants keep coming. Their hope and experience drive them.
Churchill supposedly said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others. The electoral mandate that drives the decisions of our politicians smells of corruption and a violation of conflict of interest.
What if the American Revolution had never happened? For starters we would be living in a world of monarchs and dictators. My liberal friends freaked out during the Trump Presidency, but he was checked regularly by his opponents as the Constitution and the Founders intended. Because of the American Revolution, power is divided up because too much power in anyone’s hands is dangerous.
Without the American Revolution we would not have the rights we have today.
I get it, we have some serious problems in our history. Some of my more liberal friends rant about American Exceptionalism or Christian Nationalism. But, warts and all, I do not see a better system in human experience. The answer is not to dismantle what we have, but to roll up our sleeves and address the problems before us.
We are invited to participate in a nearly 250 year old experiment in self-government. President Lincoln called us, “the last, best hope in earth.” And, that was a hundred and sixty years ago! It may get messy, it is definitely slow, but it is still the best deal in politics on the planet. The world is a better place because of the American Revolution. We live with rights we would never have if we lived under kings and dictators. For that, I am grateful to the Founders and the fact that I live in the Land of the Free, because of the Brave.
“Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history…The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation…We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope on earth,” Abraham Lincoln, Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.
Paul Betancourt has farmed full time in the San Joaquin Valley for 38 years and is a Past President of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. In semi-retirement he still farms 27 acres of almonds, is a Lecturer at Fresno State and on staff at La Vina Covenant Church in Kerman.
DISCLAIMER OF RESPONSIBILITY; Waterwrights.net strives to provide its clients with the most complete, up-to-date, and accurate information available. Nevertheless, Waterwrights.net does not serve as a guarantor of the accuracy or completeness of the information provided, and specifically disclaims any and all responsibility for information that is not accurate, up-to-date, or complete. Waterwrights.net’s clients therefore rely on the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of information from Waterwrights.net entirely at their own risk. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not represent any advertisers or third parties.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2024 by WaterWrights.net
