Preview Summary –
- When you consider those who helped set the stage in America’s early days, they tend to fit in two groups: founding influencers and founding fathers.
- What we’ve learned over the past 250 years is that going to the next level in roots & culture means having social impact done right for empowering life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
- The days ahead on this road towards the next chapter is one that should embrace self-evident truths and the American Dream in living out our better angels for a more perfect union.
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“Da Island Guy”
Sounding Off Social
What’s the difference between the NFL’s Wild Card Weekend and America’s recent Wild Ride Week? In case you’re not a sports fan, the NFL kicked off its playoff run towards the Superbowl. The debate a few weeks ago was whether Bad Bunny as halftime performer would attract the kind of viewership that tops previous performers. Now debate has shifted to how the playoff is loaded with teams that aren’t normally in the running at this stage. That’s been the convo among sports fans and post-game interviews.
You might also have noticed that the games featured the words ‘America 250’ on the sidelines and game balls. That’s a nod to 2026 being the 250th anniversary of America’s Independence. There’re a slew of events, activities and programs scheduled from now until ‘America 250’ hits peak in July. Obviously, the marking of the ball is a great gesture, but it’s gonna take more than that to speak to the consciousness of the nation and the next generation. You’ve prob noticed how recent events in the U.S. and overseas took on a ‘wild ride week’ feeling. Many aren’t sure where things are going or what they should be doing. Well, let’s look back to other wild ride periods in our nation’s history.
When you consider those who helped set the stage in America’s early days, they tend to fit in two groups: founding influencers (e.g. Thomas Paine, Paul Revere) and founding fathers (e.g. George Washington, Alexander Hamilton). Plus, there was a small subset who weren’t born in the colonies and as such were immigrants, e.g. Paine from England and Hamilton from the island of Nevis in the Caribbean. Those two individuals have been instrumental with inspiring the work of SAIC and our monthly updates. Moreover, they helped forge America’s shift in consciousness by putting things in writing. Paine wrote the book ‘Common Sense’ which made the case for the Declaration of Independence and America’s founding. Hamilton wrote most of the Federalist Papers which made the case for the States adopting the Constitution. It’s as if the first 20 years of America’s founding resulted in ‘The People’s Plan’, so to speak.
The first 20 years of the civil rights movement also helped shape America in the modern era. During that period Dr. King wrote a book that was instrumental with inspiring a ‘Turn up’ among the younger generation. As students at North Carolina A&T University took heed to his writing, two of them would be among those who led the lunch counter sit-in protests. They later teamed up with John Lewis to form the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, aka SNCC. What if we’re at a moment in America’s journey, with 250th birthday celebrations underway, where we need to make the case for America’s next chapter? How might that be seen through the writings of ‘The People’s Plan’ from the founders or ‘The Turn Up Agenda’ from past social impact movements?
Well, what we’ve learned is that going to the next level in roots & culture means having social impact done right for empowering life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In the 21st century that might not be enough though. We’re gonna need a new spin on the Declaration of Independence, otherwise called the Declaration of Emergence. As you know, SAIC is big on us having a better handle of hot-button issues by how we see America in color, not just in black and white. But our current times also call for something more, which the founders and Dr. King made possible by speaking to the consciousness of the nation and young people through:
1. Self-evident Truths
The first subject to note as the founders laid out ‘The People’s Plan’ was self-evident truths. That’s info/facts that are hard to argue, like “all men are created equal.” The problem these days is where self-evident truths get confused with ‘social truths’. It’s like what happens at the bar among friends. After a few rounds what’s said is sometimes half-truths mixed with tipsy small talk. In a computer system when ‘truth’ gets compromised things end up in a loop or critical error. Is that happening in our social/political system these days, thus affecting how we function as a nation towards life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?
2. More Perfect Union
A part of ‘The People’s Plan’ was forming a more perfect union. Think of America’s early days as defined by ‘Community 1.0’ where liberty & justice were at stake. After many decades, a shift in consciousness occurred with ‘Community 2.0’ where equality and opportunity were at stake. Then, on the dawn of the civil rights movement, another shift in consciousness occurred with ‘Community 3.0’ where fairness and equity were at stake. Now it seems the currently emerging period of ‘Community 4.0’ is where securing democracy and the soul of the nation are at stake in the push towards a more perfect union.
3. American Dream
When Dr. King uttered the words “I have a dream that’s deeply rooted in the American dream”, he was tapping into America’s story. In the early days the American dream was based on the desire for self-determination. Folks no longer wanted to let British rule have control over their economic and social well-being. Since then, the dream has gone from a push for gaining property, to expanding opportunity, to experiencing greater autonomy as a nation. Dr. King understood that ‘I have a dream’ would connect in a universal way to mean ‘we have a dream’, as others arrived at the doorstep with the same desires.
4. Better Angels
At times America has lost its way, in not living up to its ideals. This often resulted in dire circumstances for different groups of people. But what Lincoln said in his first inaugural address was an inspiring message to help us move past a period of divisiveness in the nation. Likewise, if we’re gonna have social impact done right for empowering life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, then we must summon our better angels to break from what’s holding us back. This means building on our unalienable rights, engaging those timeless civic ideals and tapping into hidden assets in mind, body and core of our humanity.
“America 2K26 and the nation’s fix” should embrace self-evident truths and the American Dream in living out our better angels for a more perfect union. This doesn’t have to be knee-jerk, but gotta be consciousness deep. As we tackle new year ‘Civic Resolutions’, we can have social impact done right with SAIC’s campaign/platform for a better picture of civic/social issues, like color tv did for black & white. We can have a better handle of hot button issues like smart phones did for analog cell phones. When we see America in color, not just black & white, we can live our best life in mind, body and core of humanity.
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Tracks: Common – Don’t Forget Who You Are – https://youtu.be/mp2681a91NM?si=O2lzVALgsCABwvTZ
One Republic – Better Days – https://youtu.be/dbUI7JfHxLc?si=xpuvjaLHwgLt7UB9
See America In Color 