On this July 4th, a time of tumult, disruption and fear, I’m reminded of another Independence Day, America’s bicentennial in 1976. Patriotism was electric that day. It was a new experience for many of us. We had lived through the 60’s with all of its war, and assassinations and riots. That gave birth to the 70’s – a corrupt vice-presidency and resignation, and a presidency that ended with articles of impeachment and a president’s resignation; then, our final withdrawal from Saigon, with refugees dangling from the skids of the final helicopters lifting off from the American Embassy. In America Tune Paul Simon sang, “…my eyes could clearly see the Statue of Liberty sailing away to sea…”
We were recovering as a nation. We survived and went forward to thrive. It seems, thus far in the history of our nation, in our time of greatest need, the right leader emerges. The wild sixties and the dishonesty that started the seventies gave birth to honest men like Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, who took us forward with grace.
On that bicentennial day, as I marched along the Brooklyn Promenade with my friends, miming the Yankee Doodle drummers and fife trio, we looked out at the hundreds of tall ships that had sailed into New York Harbor from everywhere in the world to honor our nation’s freedom and independence. A U.S. battleship roared with a 21 gun salute for the vice president, who had just stepped off his helicopter.
As late afternoon turned to dusk that day, we found ourselves in Battery Park on the southern tip of Manhattan, overlooking that Statue of Liberty. Frisbees flew through the air. Family picnics spread across blankets. People from all across New York City and all across the world had gathered – people of every ethnicity and color; people young and old; toddlers and babies in arms; people in wheelchairs and with walkers. At last, night was falling and the most incredible fireworks erupted over New York Harbor. Thirty-minutes of exploding colors and sparkling lights lit the darkness over the harbor and directly overhead. In the final crescendo, there were enormous bursts over the Statue of Liberty, which then disappeared in a crimson cloud. Suddenly, emerging out of that cloud came a helicopter flying towards us, a giant American Flag draped below it. Spontaneously, people already on their feet, broke into the Star Spangled Banner. People of every color from everywhere on the planet, some with babes in arms, tears rolling down their cheeks, singing the national anthem together. That is our America, then and now.
