What If It Was Called The Declaration of Interdependence?

The most well known passage of our founding document is… say it with me, “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.

After listing the twenty-seven different ways in which England was violating these rights, we declared our separation from this tyrannical rule and the rest, as they say, is our history.

The document has also served another, perhaps unintended purpose. It established the idea of independence as the centerpiece of our national character. We are the country of the pioneer, the self-reliant, and the boot strapped.

But while the declaration was the story of breaking apart it was equally the story of a coming together.

It is after all the origin story of our country, the United States of America – thirteen colonies coming together to form a “more perfect union.”

Just prior to the signing of the Declaration, Benjamin Franklin admonished his fellow founding fathers, reportedly saying, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Also on July 4^th, a committee was formed and tasked to create a seal for our new nation.  Six weeks later, they presented their recommendation featuring the phrase, E Pluribus Unum – meaning out of many one.

And consider, the final words of the declaration, “…we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

It is interesting to note that nowhere in Jefferson’s actual text, will you see the term “Declaration of Independence”.  In fact, the top of the document reads “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.”

There is little doubt that as a legal document the purpose of this declaration was indeed to announce our separation from England. Yet that declaration was only possible if we first agreed that we must join together to do so.

And this interdependence extended well beyond our shores. During the war, the Netherlands provided loans and war supplies and without the aid of the French and Lafayette, who knows what the outcome of the war, would have been.

Yet, national narratives can be stubborn and pernicious things. Over the last two hundred and forty plus years, we have struggled with this idea of interdependence. 

On the world stage it has sometimes led us to think that we can act unilaterally or most recently disengage from important global agreements.

As states, we have often recoiled at the idea of federal intervention, most tragically leading to the Civil War and most recently leading some states to opt out of federal programs like Medicaid.

And as individuals, it has translated into the widely held belief that our lives are largely determined by our independent actions and not impacted by those around us.

As we celebrate what we so affectionately refer to as Independence Day, and contemplate where we are as a nation, it provides the perfect opportunity to square what should not be seen as two opposing ideas – independence and interdependence – as ones that are complementary.

We can believe we are the greatest country in the world AND that’s countries have always worked together to do great things like win world wars or eradicate disease.

We can respect that states have the right to govern themselves and that the federal government can provide value to them through projects like the interstate highway system, creating the intranet, and providing national defense.

And we can take pride in what we have accomplished as individuals while also appreciating that our family, friends, teachers and mentors have helped us along the way.

So as we wave our flags this July 4^th, symbolizing our independence, lets all take a moment to appreciate the thirteen stripes, fifty stars and thousands of threads that hold it all together.