Sometimes, people from the distant past can give today’s generation a lot to ponder.
A century ago, Americans had just emerged from a world war and a crippling pandemic. But the author of the main editorial in the Deseret News on July 4, 1923, talked about none of that. He was instead filled with boundless optimism and gratitude, and he wrote as if he couldn’t imagine a better time.
“As President Harding has pointed out in his speeches, no other country involved in that conflict (WWI) has shown such remarkable recovery, and no country has greater reason to feel thankful for blessings received,” he wrote.
He added that the American people “can see still better days ahead. They believe in the destiny of the Republic and are trying to work out that destiny.
“Never since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence have they had greater faith in the perpetuation of the principles of justice than they have today. They have made many sacrifices for the good of humanity and stand ready to make many more if it becomes necessary.”
Would editorial writers and the rest of the nation still feel the same 10 years later, after the prosperity of the ’20s had melted into the depths of the Great Depression?
That’s easily answered. A decade later, the paper’s main editorial emphatically declared, “The people of America, with few exceptions, believe that our form of government, despite its faults, is the best in the world. We believe that the common man has greater opportunity and greater advantages in America than in any other country in the world. We believe that the individual’s right to do as he pleases, so long as he does no injury to his neighbor, is worth more than any privilege which can be granted by king or dictator.”
The writer put the responsibility for the nation’s future squarely on its people.
“A nation is what its people make of it. It shines in glory as its people grow in intelligence, wisdom and righteousness and embody in their lives the high and fine principles of right and justice which exalt and ennoble human life.”
The question for today is, do Americans still believe these things? If not, can pride in country be recaptured by those who fail to recognize the aspirational nature of righteous endeavor?
By any measure, Americans today have many more conveniences, much higher wages and greater opportunities than their predecessors did a century ago. In 1923, according to IRS figures from the time, the average income was $3,226.70. Accounting for inflation, that would equal $47,051.84 today. However, the average income in 2023 is $63,214, according to worldpopulationreview.com.
In reality, however, people a century ago could not buy a computer or a smartphone at any income level. Travel was slow, limited and, in the case of cars and airplanes, far more dangerous than today. Space travel was the stuff of dreams. Medicine was in the infant stages of developing antibiotics, let alone many of today’s treatments and procedures. Sanitation seemed primitive by today’s standards and credit, so easy to obtain in today’s world of electronic money, was hard to come by. The United States, meanwhile, had not yet established itself as the world’s dominant power and influence.
The past century has been filled with challenges — economically, militarily and in every conceivable sense — but the arc through it all has been a steady progress upward.
Someone from a century ago would be awed by our progress, but he or she likely would be aghast at how we are treating such fortune.
A recent Wall Street Journal opinion poll found that Americans are moving away from the values of patriotism and religious freedom that once defined the nation. We have less tolerance for each other and place a greater emphasis on obtaining money than did previous generations.
Such a shift in attitudes seems ungrateful and shameful in light of a century of blessings.
The wisdom of yesterday’s editorialist still rings true. The nation still shines “as its people grow in intelligence, wisdom and righteousness and embody in their lives the high and fine principles of right and justice which exalt and ennoble human life.”
And what of those who are poor or who have been left behind from the measure of prosperity? Helping lift those individuals — treating the downtrodden as your neighbor — is also an American ethic. Joy and appreciation of blessings comes from serving our fellow man.
Amid the appropriate celebrations of liberty and freedom on this coming Fourth of July, every American ought to take time to ponder blessings, give thanks and examine how he or she can work to ensure that the future contains still better days, for everyone. The nation’s future depends on it.