Would you like to receive notifications on latest updates of the following headlines?

At 248, America Still Waxing Strong

POSTED ON July 4, 2024 •   Editorial      BY Simon Utebor
USA Flag/ Photo credit: USA.co

Prior to July 4, 1776, the United States of America, which today remains the world's undisputed superpower, was under the iron grips of Great Britain as one of its colonies.

Freedom is not actually free hence the founding fathers of America had to fight vociferously  to break away from the shackles of the British colonisers.

The American Revolution was birthed. It was an insurrection carried out by 13 of Great Britain’s North American colonies that began in 1775 and ended with a peace treaty in 1783. 

The colonies won political independence and went on to form the United States of America. The war followed more than a decade of growing estrangement between the British crown and a large and influential segment of its North American colonies that was caused by British attempts to assert greater control over colonial affairs after having long adhered to a policy of salutary neglect.

Today, America is 248 years old as an independent country. The country stands tall in the comity of nations. Even Great Britain which once colonised it has long formed an alliance with other countries around America with America playing the lead role. It calls the shots in the international politics.

Most countries in the world tailor their political system towards America. The antecedents of American federalism trace to colonial days when the concept of divided sovereign began to take shape.

At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the thirteen colonies declared themselves to be free and independent states. During the hostilities and at the War’s end, the newly formed states recognized that they needed to operate together to function adequately on the new national stage and to enter the world stage.

America’s first attempt to codify federalism — the Articles of Confederation of 1781 — failed. Replaced by the Constitution of 1787, the government it established have survived the tenuous early days of the Republic, a Civil War, serious economic depressions, America’s involvement in two World Wars, and 227 years of innumerable internal and external challenges. 

Today, most Americans hope this Independence Day brings all Americans together to celebrate their nation’s foundation — at a time when the country seems torn asunder by many of the same issues that led their founders to break from the British crown and declare their autonomy.

July 4 celebrates America's Declaration of Independence from British control, even though that independence wasn’t achieved until 1783, after more than eight years of fierce fighting.

Still, that declaration eloquently enumerates many of the reasons the American colonists fought to break off the yoke of suppression by the British crown.

Unfortunately, Americans today can make many of the same grievances against their own government.

As Americans reassert their nation’s independence, there is the need to review some of those charges laid out in their declaration, which was intended to assert the independence of the American people over any government that would seek to subvert them — including their own.

It the general belief among Americans that governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed and that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.

Increasing regulation, from restrictions on the vehicles Americans drive to the bathrooms the children may use, imposes the kinds of impediments against which their revolution was commenced.

One of the major parties in America has been working to delegitimize the elections process, refusing to acknowledge the results of elections with which they don’t agree.

During this electioneering in the US, efforts to stop immigration comprise the most contentious issue in this campaign. 

Those efforts already have injured the country's economy as businesses struggle to find workers and governments at all levels boost taxes to offset the loss of potential taxpayers that immigration would provide.

The steady growth of government bureaucracy and regulation increasingly hinders public freedoms and takes bigger bites out of their hard-earned resources.

Officials increasingly impose and raise taxes without public consent, and fight public notice and meeting laws intended to allow the public to voice their opinions of new taxes and increases.

Without any iota of doubt, America has remained a model to many countries around the world and it is hoped that the developing countries in the world, particularly on the African continent will emulate those things that make America tick as a great country.
Happy 248th independence anniversary, America, the God's Own Country!

READ ALSO
Trump’s Triumphant Return: From Conviction to the White House
BY Suleiman Jimoh November 7, 2024 0

Donald Trump defied the odds on Wednesday, reclaiming the presidency in one of the most dramatic com...

READ ALSO
Poignant reflections on Nigeria at 64
BY Benedicta Bassey October 10, 2024 0

On October 1, 1960, Nigeria, today, with the appellation, 'the giant of Africa', gained her independ...

READ ALSO
Battered by Nigeria's economic woes
BY Simon Utebor September 26, 2024 0

The current economic downturn in Nigeria has severely impacted workers, despite the recent announcem...

READ ALSO
Heartless fuel price hike
BY Simon Utebor September 12, 2024 0

The recent callous and unthinkable hike in the prices of petroleum products in Nigeria at...

READ ALSO
Another fuel price hike conundrum
BY simon utebor September 5, 2024 0

Wondering why there is much anger, protestation, hunger and poverty in the land? The answer is not f...

READ ALSO
Nigeria's Presidential Jets' Seizure: The Judgment Conundrum
BY Benedicta Bassey August 29, 2024 0

The news of the court's ordered seizure of the jets – a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737, and...

READ ALSO
Olympics: Team Nigeria 'Medal-less' Outing
BY Simon Utebor August 15, 2024 0

The 'medal-less' outing of Team Nigeria at the just-concluded 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, h...

READ ALSO
The Famished Nigerians' Days Of Rage
BY Simon Utebor August 8, 2024 0

With the combined forces of hunger, poverty, starvation, high inflation and bad governance, the hard...

OUR CHANNELS:

FG commends Ghana for rescuing 219 trafficked Nigerians from cybercrime
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 26, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria - The federal government has praised the Ghanaian authorities for rescuing at least 2...


Tinubu meets security chiefs, Calls for swift action against ongoing violence
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 26, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria - President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for an immediate end to the ongoing violence...


FG releases ₦50Bn for university staff unions, A commitment to educational reform
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 26, 2025 0

The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, announced on Wednesday that the federal govern...


Fani-Kayode criticises Mutfwang's leadership amid security crisis
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 26, 2025 0

PLATEAU, Nigeria - Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, and former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-K...


Father demands justice as Nigerian correctional service dismisses kidnapping allegations
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 24, 2025 0

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria - Ogunsinasi Oluwaseyi, the father of 12-year-old Oluwaseyi Favour, who was r...


Ogun shuts  four companies for environmental violations
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 26, 2025 0

OGUN, Nigeria (NAN) - The Ogun state government, via its Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA), ha...


IMF urges Nigeria to exercise fiscal caution amid economic reforms
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on Nigeria to exercise caution in its expenditures...


FG urges IMF, World Bank to bolster economic reforms in sub-saharan Africa
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 24, 2025 0

Finance Minister Wale Edun has emphasized the need for increased global assistance to reform economi...


LASG short 66,000 healthcare practitioners, threat to quality services delivery
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 27, 2025 0

LAGOS, Nigeria - The Lagos State Government is grappling with a significant shortage of medical prac...


Pope Francis to be buried April 26
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara April 26, 2025 0

Pope Francis’s funeral will be held on Saturday, the Vatican announced Tuesday, as world leade...


More Articles

Load more...

Menu