“I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy,” wrote John Adams in a letter to his wife, Abigail, in 1780.
“My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce, and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry, and Porcelaine.”
And on Independence Day 2014, it’s clear that American citizens of today have the right and the liberty to do just that.
We Americans still study “Politicks and War.” And when Osama bin Laden woke up to hear the U.S. Navy SEALS come thumping up the steps toward his attic lair, he likely realized we’re still pretty good at it.
Moreover, when duty calls or a national emergency strikes, plenty of people will put “Musick” and “Porcelaine” aside to take up arms in the national defense. That happened after the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor. It happened after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
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It would happen again today if the need arose.
But on a day-to-day basis, the secure and prosperous system that Adams and his fellow Founders bequeathed give Americans the very liberty that Adams wrote about. It’s a freedom almost unprecedented in the history of the world: the freedom to choose what to “study” and, ultimately, what to pursue as a career.
It can cause anguish, this freedom. Many’s the teenager or twentysomething who has felt paralyzed by it. One person compared it to sitting in an apple tree with luscious fruit dangling all around; but if you pick one, you’re convinced you won’t be able to pick any of the others.
But not one of those tree-sitters, however frozen with indecision, would trade their freedom to choose for a system in which the apples - fresh, wormy and rotten alike - are handed out by fiat.
Between UND, Northland Community and Technical College and countless other fine options including the military, Red River Valley residents enjoy a true cornucopia of training and career options.
It’s easy to take this extraordinary freedom for granted. But today of all days, let’s remember that there’s nothing “normal” about it.
Instead, it’s a gift. It’s a privilege granted to Americans and to precious few others around the world, especially outside of the developed world.
And like so many other blessings of modern America, it’s one that has its roots in the signing of a parchment declaration in Philadelphia, 238 years ago today.
