To the Editor:
The rapidly-approaching 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is sure to be celebrated with parades, barbecues, speeches, and collective pats-on-the-back. In every city and town, prayers will be offered, bands will play, and flags will fly, as well they should. It’s a milestone, after all, that not every nation gets to reach.
However, I think this particular occasion deserves something more than mere celebration. What if we revisit the Declaration of 1776, reaffirm the values it embodied - considering all that has happened since then, and all that yet remains to be done - and issue another Declaration, a Declaration of 2026? This would not be another Declaration of Independence, but a renewal, a recommitment to our founding principles.
I invite readers to contribute to this new Declaration. Honor or mourn those who have gone before, offer up your hopes and visions (or fears) for the future, celebrate - or castigate - the present. Speak from the heart.
Then share those thoughts with friends and families, coworkers and strangers, and encourage them to do the same.
I would not expect any single unifying text to emerge from the resulting cacophony, though that might happen. But I do expect many points of view to be articulated, discussed, shared, and heard - and that will be perfectly all right.
Walter S. Mendler
Scranton