EDITOR'S NOTE: McGrath, a Georgetown Democrat, is the Kentucky State AFL-CIO-endorsed candidate for Congress in the 6th District in central Kentucky
By AMY McGRATH
“Few nations in the world know when they were born. We know exactly when we began and why we began and who did it.” - David McCullough
In the same week our founders declared independence, 32,000 British troops landed on Staten Island. That British force was larger than America’s largest city at the time, Philadelphia. In pledging “our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor,” the founders knew they were risking it all in standing for ideas like freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and equality before the law.
"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. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…"
Never before had there been a government that derived its powers from the “consent of the governed.” What we have today—the freedoms we enjoy, the laws that protect us, the institutions that have allowed our country to thrive—is all possible because these founders dared to build a nation on these universal ideals and common-sense values.
Our founders weren’t all perfect, and it has taken centuries of struggle to correct systemic injustices against women and minorities. We are certainly not perfect in the United States today. But I’ve seen up close while serving in other parts of the world how difficult it is for so many other countries to create the institutions of government we often take for granted, and build them upon the freedoms we can also take for granted. Many countries don’t have a justice system that is fair. Courts are religiously biased, or nonexistent, or corrupt. Protests aren’t allowed, and individuals must be careful about what they say or write for fear of incarceration or worse.
Today, in our toxic political climate, I worry we have bashed our own government for so long that we aren’t enabling it to function properly. I believe that people who love their country must continue to work to make it better, to make it a “more perfect union." Government is made of people, people we elect. We need leaders who aren’t just passionate about the fundamental ideals this country was founded upon, but also believe that, if we set our minds to it, we can make the government—our government—work for the people again.
That’s why I’m running for Congress, and I hope it’s part of why you’re on the team.
Happy 4th of July.