Freedom: The Greatest Idea Worth Exploring

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed 236 years ago.

IdEx is based on the assumption that life is exciting and the world is full of ideas that are worth exploring, experimenting with, and learning more about.  Today the United States celebrates the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a pivotal moment in our country's history where a few men risked "(their) Lives, (their) Fortunes, and (their) sacred Honor" in exchange for the chance to explore the idea of freedom.

Education experts like to talk about the importance of being willing to face failure, asking questions, and being proactive in finding solutions.  To our founding fathers, these were not abstract ideas, but a way of life.  Their pledge of life, fortune, and honor was not just a pretty phrase.  They were very well aware that their actions put their property, reputations, and lives at risk.  They knew that the ideas they proposed - liberty, democracy, equality - were radical ideas that had never been implemented successfully by any other nation at that time.  They didn't know if the government they established would even survive their lifetimes. 

Knowing failure was likely, the founding fathers pressed forward anyway.  They used the best resources they had - the smartest political and military minds in the colonies, great works of literature from other countries, and the the determination and spirit of the people themselves.  Their conventions featured hotly contested debates on the specifics of the new government and way of life they wanted to create.  The freedom they proposed was an untrod path, democracy was a "great experiment."  As much as any scientist or discover, our founding fathers had to search and pave the way through uncharted territory.

Thanks to their hard work and the tenacity and courage of all those who came before and after, the spirit of freedom and exploration is part of American culture.

"America is an experiment. From the time of its first white settlement, America has been a place where people came to experiment with doing things differently. It’s been a place to gamble, to see if you could be one of the lucky ones who became landowners or lawyers or independent merchants. You gambled on the weather, politics, your own skills, and your own ability to commit to the experiment of living in America, and being an American." - from the blog The Great American Experiment

This option to experiment would not be possible if our founding fathers had not been willing to undertake the "great experiment" of democracy.  Today as we remember the origins of our freedom, I am grateful for the men and women - military, politicians, and civilians - who have fought and argued and defended our freedoms.  Freedom is more than just an idea to explore or to experiment with.  It is the idea that lets us be free to explore all the other ideas.