by Janessa Jordan

This weekend a friend and I drove to Kansas to celebrate the 4th of July with my extended family. We drove through many sleepy towns in Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas before arriving at our final destination in southeast Kansas, all waving their American (and often, Confederate) flags in their front yards.

Upon seeing this public display of patriotism I began to really ponder, what does it mean for me to be an American?

Born in America. Check.

Raised in America. Check

Vote. Check.

Know the three branches of government. Check.

Listen to Bruce Springsteen. Check.

But for some reason, none of these reasons seem sufficient to me to substantiate my American-ness.

A few months ago, a mentor of mine was giving the keynote address at the Colorado Leadership Alliance event. He is founded an urban high school in Denver and is now a state senator in the Stapleton area. He said that many people quote the Declaration of Independence’s first line “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal,” but few people remember the last line, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” The last line in the Declaration shows that part of what it means to be an American is fighting, pledging our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
This line blows me away.

What is it that I am fighting for? What is it that I am pledging? It’s easy for me to be cynical about America when I listen and read about American greed or the failing economy or the pithy political battles. How can I possibly love a country that has so many problems? Over this holiday weekend I have been reaffirmed that being American does not mean that this country provides providence for me, but rather that I pledge my Life, Fortune, and sacred Honor to shape America into the country that it ought to be.

What about you?