Finding Inspiration from Founders

I love the Fourth of July. Not because of the parades or the grilling or the beer, although those things are nice. For me, the fourth is all about my weird fascination with Revolutionary Era America. You may not know the words to all the songs in 1776, but sit too close and you may hear me singing them before sharing John Adams fun facts and admitting that Thomas Jefferson isn’t as annoying of a historical figure as I often say he is.

It’s not just that our founding fathers set up the amazing democracy that we live in today that gets me so excited to learn more, it’s how they envisioned something completely new. They said, “Why not be an independent entity from a monarchy? Why not take on a highly sophisticated military? Why not fight for freedom?” I think it is nearly impossible for us to appreciate the audacity of these questions. It took foresight, courage, and commitment to found what we now know as our nation.

Almost all of the glimmers of this kind of bold courage we see today are in the nonprofit sector. It is many of our founders, our funders, our innovators and our mission-driven workers that ask the bold question today, “Why can’t things be better than they are now?”

By now, we have all heard the current recession repositioned as an opportunity to get back to what really matters in our communities. I ask that over the holiday, not only enjoy the bright sparkles of the fireworks overhead, but find the inspiration from our bold founding fathers to return Monday with fresh ideas and a new excitement for asking, “Why not?”