“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
We hold these truths to be self-evident…”
So begins the Declaration of Independence, which, together with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights – which are the first ten amendments to the Constitution – outline the main ideals that the United States of America were founded on. These are: Equality of all people; Freedom of speech and religion; Self-Governance – in that the government can only rule with the consent of the People; Justice – in that the laws, created by the people themselves, would apply to all equally, both rich and poor, and would work to the benefit of all. The fledgling thirteen states had dissolved their political bands with the British Empire, and so in the Constitution, they determined that their form of government would include checks and balances, that there would be three distinct divisions of government, all equal in power, with separate functions, to make sure that the Will of the People would rule the country.
These ideals have long been what has driven this country, and driven people to this country – people who see that a government “by the people,” and “for the people,” is one they wish to live in.
From January 1, 1892 until November 12, 1954, Ellis Island served as the port of entry for over 12 million immigrants who saw the wide open spaces of this country, the laws that favored freedom, equality, and justice, and found their way to the shores of these United States. People like the actors Rudolph Valentino, Bob Hope, or Cary Grant; people like the athletes Knute Rockne or Charles Atlas; people like the businessmen Max Factor or Chef Boyardee; artists and musicians like Khalil Gibran, and Irving Berlin; and, my personal favorite, the physicist Albert Einstein, who bore a striking resemblance to my grandfather, and who taught for a while at Caltech, where I used to work when living in Pasadena. They all came to the United States, seeking these ideals and came through the gates of Ellis Island.
Emma Lazarus’ famous poem, “The New Colossus,” which is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty, aptly sums up the ideals of this nation sought out by so many for the opportunity for a new life:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
These ideals that this nation was founded on drove the United States to host over 50 nations in San Francisco for two months in 1945 as these nations hashed out the charter of the United Nations, so that the world would never experience the horrors of World War II, and would instead strive for peace and goodwill among all nations.
Together with Canada and European nations, we formed the North America Treaty Organization as a protective measure against Russian aggression in Europe. It was the first peacetime military alliance the United States had entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere, with the intention, once again, of keeping the horrors of World War II from repeating themselves, and helping to keep these ideals alive in as many nations as possible.
While not waging a physical war, through the application of the concepts of Equality, Liberty, Justice, and Self-Governance the United States waged an ideological war through its own media service, effectively evangelizing the world with the ideals of democracy and freedom. The first broadcast was in 1942, broadcast in German, in an attempt to educate the German people about Democratic Ideals. For over 80 years and in 40 languages, the ideals that the United States holds dear were spread across the globe through the Voice of America. By broadcasting beyond the Iron Curtain, these democratic ideals helped to topple the USSR, and for a time, brought democracy and freedom to the country of Russia.
Similarly, in 1961, the United States created the Agency for International Development, which promoted democracy, provided education to poor countries, helped reduce poverty in poorer countries by providing development and business opportunities. It provided health care for the very poorest of countries, including providing food during times of crisis, such as the Ethiopian famine in the early 80’s. In a very real way, we have helped to provide economic and political stability to many countries simply by feeding the widows and orphans, caring for the poor, the persecuted and oppressed. By feeding, clothing, and educating the poor in these countries, we helped to keep them from descending into civil war and international conflict.
Over the years, we have come to the aid of foreign nations who have been faced with Fascism, like Nazi Germany, or communist countries like Soviet Russia, the People’s Republic of North Korea, and the People’s Republic of Vietnam. We have even fought ideological wars against Theocratic factions like Al Qaeda, ISIS, or the Taliban.
Our scriptures today outline some ideals as well, asking us to care for the widow, the orphan, the immigrant. They remind us that the Lord is full of compassion, and these scriptures remind us that we too are merely sojourners in this land and upon this earth as we, ourselves, desire a better country – that is, a heavenly one. And, perhaps the most difficult ideal to handle is that Jesus himself tells us that we are to “love our enemies, and pray for those that persecute us.” A difficult thing indeed, considering that we all would probably prefer to watch our enemies tread water in a lake of fire.
It may come as quite a shock to some of you – just as it did to me – that the founders of this nation, and the writers of the Constitution wrote another document. This document was called the Treaty of Tripoli, which states, and I quote, “the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.” This treaty was written in 1796, ratified by the Senate and signed by President John Adams in 1797. It comes as a shock to many of us, for sure. But it is only shocking because the ideals espoused by the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights fit so nicely with the commandments of God in the scripture.
Does it really matter if this country was founded on Christian Ideals? Or if these ideals only borrowed from the Scriptures? Not really. At least I don’t think so.
If we’ve learned anything from this nation’s history, we know that the United States is strong when its people are strong. And its people are strong when they pursue and uphold the ideals that the country was founded on: equality, justice, liberty, and democracy and the pursuit of peace among all nations. And, if we know anything from our scripture, we know that the people of the United States are strong when we align ourselves with the commandments of God that appear within these scriptures, and love our neighbors, love even our enemies, and pray for all those who persecute us.
Because, the ultimate guide for our lives is our faith and our desire to serve God and our fellow humans. Laws may change, and Constitutions may be amended. People may defy laws or tilt the scales of justice, but ultimately, we answer to the one true and living God, the creator of all things.
So let us, as the Apostle Paul says, “not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.”
God bless the United States.
And God bless all those nations that believe and worship the one true and living God.
May our mutual love for our savior lead us all into unity and peace.
[This sermon was delivered at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Wickenburg, AZ on July 4, 2025.]
