Center on Civility and Democracy Newsletter Guest Contributor Ken Burns

The Words That Hold Us Together

History reminds us of an essential fact of human nature: people have always faced division. But this need not preclude the possibility of national and political unity. The genius of the American Founding was to build a country around a new vision of human equality and dignity – first in speech, then gradually in reality. In my upcoming documentary, “The American Revolution,” 10 years in the making, my co-creators and I attempt to tell this story in all its heroic and complex glory.

The Revolutionary period was one of fierce division. Towns, regions and even families were split between Patriots and Loyalists. And such quarrels were not unique to this period. Consider the Civil or Vietnam wars. There has always been conflict. But even amidst these trials, the words and spirit of the Declaration of Independence have always united us.

It was this spirit – genuinely new in human history – that the Revolution first introduced. We’re the only country held together not by a common language, religion or geography, but by words. And to these words we must return.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

When we study these words, we see the newness they represent and are called to reinvest in those things we share in common. The founders asked us to be more than subjects, to be citizens with both rights and responsibilities. A subject is passive; a citizen is active.

Part of that activity, distilled in the pursuit of happiness, involves becoming ever more educated to the duties of citizenship by exploring what our neighbors think and why, especially when it contrasts with our own commitments.

By studying America’s founding, we can learn something profound about coming together with our fellow Americans. Often regarded as “the birthplace of the American army”, Valley Forge was the Continental Army’s monumental encampment between 1777 and 1778. Not only would George Washington’s men endure brutal winters, rationed food and clothing shortages, they would stand amongst more than 12,000 other soldiers and 400 women and children of all ages.

The encampment embodied a people of all walks of life, ethnic and racial identities and religious beliefs. While many were English and Protestant men, others were African, American Indian, Catholic and Jewish. Inevitably, these individuals had different values and perspectives on important issues like freedom, slavery, equality and how the new nation should be built. Not only did Valley Forge serve as a military turning point for the Continental Army, it was a historic site of shared experience in service to a common end.

In today’s binary culture, everything is a one or a 0, everybody a democrat or a republican, a friend or an enemy. We’ve forgotten that it’s possible to tolerate disagreement and different perspectives as we do with those we love. If soldiers, enslaved Americans, American Indians, women, and children of all backgrounds could find some common ground at Valley Forge, so too can my neighbor and I do so today.

Embroiled in our struggles with one another, we forget that the creation of the U.S. was the most important experiment in human government the world has ever seen. That’s worth celebrating.

What I’ve learned from making films about the United States is that when it comes to our fellow citizens, there’s only “us.” There’s no them. That’s the radical break the Declaration of Independence inaugurated, and it’s a standard we must uphold 250 years later.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. It doesn’t get any better than that.