The U.S. is marking a milestone — 250 years since the Declaration of Independence. That founding document — along with the U.S. Constitution — remain unique in the world.
SALT LAKE CITY — From sea to shining sea, these United States of America are marking a milestone — 250 years since the Declaration of Independence. That founding document — along with the U.S. Constitution — remains unique in the world.
As if they were written for times like these."The Constitution was made for an incredibly diverse people who weren't always going to get along," said Tyson Reeder, an assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University."I think any nation that has committed to the principle of free expression and legitimate dissent is going to experience conflict," said Professor Eric Hinderaker. He is chairman of the History Department at the University of Utah. Sharon McMahon is an author and speaker, often called "America's Government Teacher," who said, "That is what the founders understood unity to mean: shared purpose. They weren't afraid of disagreement."All believe history can be helpful in understanding what we are experiencing today. "It's useful to go back in time and learn what brought the Republic to sometimes near the brink of collapse," Reeder said.Documents defining America stand strongAmericans have lived through times of division, unrest and tragedy. The Civil War and slavery, the Civil Rights movement, President Kennedy's assassination, assassinations of his brother Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., Watergate and the resignation of a president, protests over the Vietnam War, protests over immigration today and much more.But, our experts say, we have always been able to find what unites us. "The Republic survives because there is some united sense of underlying values that they're committed to," Reeder said.McMahon added, "Unity does not mean agreement. It did not mean agreement at the founding, and it still doesn't mean agreement today. Yes, there are ways we can find common ground; that's absolutely true. But unity means shared purpose."Are we losing that vision of what unites us? McMahon said, "The majority of Americans on both sides of the political spectrum are concerned about the direction the country is headed."Hinderaker added, "… that doesn't negate the sense of shared principles. It's really, I think, in many ways, a product of the shared principles that you know that the United States has always stood for."The 24-hour news cycleHave social media and the 24-hour news cycle affected our ability to see clea
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