In the coming years, things might change drastically here in the land of the free, so it’s important that we acknowledge some of the basics that truly made America great long before the malevolent influence of MAGA Trumpism and Elon Musk came into play. As someone who has been literate in history, I’ve observed how historical facts can be altered, forgotten or rewritten to serve a particular ideology, whether left or right. So I hope that in the near future, there will be those who choose to remember and remind us of the American saga that defined our nation.

We can begin with the Founding Fathers, who managed to create a radical form of representative government (however limited in the beginning) at a time when the major nations of the world were ruled by kings, emperors, popes, tsars, warlords and other assorted authoritarians. Radical in that they literally put their lives on the line crafting the Declaration of Independence, after which they wrestled with the Constitution, which contains the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights is not only an amazing and unique document but one we should never take for granted, especially now when it is under threat. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech (which allows criticism of our government); freedom of the press (which Trump and Musk are determined to undermine); right of assembly (without being tear-gassed); and lastly, no national religion being imposed, which translates as freedom of religion, something the “Christian” nationalist movement would love to destroy.

The Fifth through Eighth Amendments guarantee the rights of a defendant in court and the need for a fair trial. Nowhere is there license to prosecute a political rival out of vengeance. And yes, you can own a gun.

The next American milestone to honor is the Gettysburg Address that President Abraham Lincoln delivered on Nov. 19, 1863. This immortal speech contained only 272 words and after its delivery; the silence of the stunned audience made its creator think it was a flop. Lincoln was preceded by Pastor Edward Everett, who had given a two-hour oration as was the custom of the day. The event was the dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery after the iconic battle that ensured the eventual defeat of the slave-holding South.

The address contains various suggestions of sacrifice, humility and the need to protect our democracy. It is the ending sentence, however, that never fails to send shivers up my spine.

“And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

At a time when billionaires and tech oligarchs threaten to control our government with the fawning consent of Congress, it’s imperative for the citizens of the United States, whatever our political views, to remind our leaders that government serves us, not the uber-wealthy for whom greed is a disease. If our politicians are bought and sold in the marketplace, then our country is nothing more than a Third World kleptocracy.

I’ll conclude with that grand lady, the Statue of Liberty. After Trump’s election campaign, which featured racist lies and rhetoric about immigrants, some suggested that, with her mission defeated, she would pack her bags and return to France. What helped make Liberty a symbol of freedom across the globe were the stirring words of writer Emma Lazarus from her 1883 poem, “The New Colossus.”

“Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand …

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Those tired, poor, wretched refuse of 1883 were mostly Italians, Jews, Eastern Europeans, Irish and other despised races including my grandparents; fleeing pogroms, starvation, political oppression and poverty on levels none of us can conceive of. The tired, poor, wretched refuse of 2025 are mostly darker-skinned Central Americans and Mexicans, which makes them even more despised. But they too are yearning to breathe free and were they arriving on a ship into New York City Harbor instead of crossing the dangerous Panama Isthmus or the Rio Grande, they, like our ancestors, would gaze upon Lady Liberty and realize that their lives now promised hope.

Daniel A. Brown lived in Franklin County for 44 years and has written a monthly My Turn column for over two decades. He lives outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife, Lisa, and dog, Cody.