Reflection
A couple of weeks ago, Lori, Jordan, and I visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force. At first glance, it’s a museum about airplanes. But walking through it, I realized it’s really a museum about an evolving idea…one born 250 years ago:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Generation after generation has sacrificed to protect that idea and move us closer to living it out. The museum was filled with people of every background and nationality.
Next, we stopped at Eastwood MetroPark, where Lori kayaked while Jord and I took in the scenery. Families laughed, kids played, people from every walk of life shared the water…in freedom.
Later, I biked the Miami River Trail. Walkers, runners, cyclists, families; different stories, different backgrounds, all moving through the same beauty…in freedom. The trail cut right through the CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show, thousands of people enjoying the day…in freedom…and I was blessed to catch the Blue Angels overhead twice as I pedaled north. 🙂
That evening, Jordan and I caught a concert at Lock 9 along the Great Miami River in Piqua. As the sun set, kids played in the splash pad and music drifted through the warm air. A wonderfully diverse crowd gathered, laughing, dancing, sharing the universal language of music. Once again: people from all walks of life, enjoying each other’s company…in freedom.
It struck me that America is a lot like the aircraft in that museum. It’s evolved over time. It’s endured setbacks, failures, hard landings. Engineers and dreamers kept improving it, believing it could fly a little higher, a little farther.
Perfect? No.
A work in progress? Absolutely.
Pretty darn good? I believe so.
One quote at the museum said it best:
“It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.” — Robert H. Goddard
(Funny enough, I noticed that 1928 quote from the “Father of Modern Rocketry” just three weeks after Elon Musk’s record-breaking SpaceX IPO.)
An idea that’s ever evolving…still.
As America turns 250, I’m simply grateful.
Grateful for those who dared to dream of a nation built on liberty.
Grateful for those who sacrificed to preserve it.
Grateful for those still doing the work of making it better.
We haven’t perfected the idea. But we’ve kept pursuing it. And for all our flaws, I still believe there’s no better place on earth to live, work, love, laugh, dream, and play.
Happy 250th, America. May our best years of becoming still lie ahead.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” — Micah 6:8
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
