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In(ter)dependence Day

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Since I’m writing this on July 3rd, let me be among the first to wish you a happy Independence Day. Tomorrow we celebrate the grand, ongoing experiment that is the United States of America and honor the founders who pledged their lives, fortunes, and “sacred honor” to set the experiment in motion 241 years ago.

When I was growing up, the Fourth of July was mostly about fireworks and fun. But my parents – and my mother the schoolteacher in particular – made sure I knew all about the document signed that day in Philadelphia. Like millions of other kids, I committed to memory the most famous passage:

“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.”

As Americans, we take as a given this idea that people everywhere have a right to be free and to govern themselves. But I can tell you, having been to 90 countries, that while the ideals we will celebrate tomorrow are universally applicable, they are not universally applied. The freedoms we enjoy are, in fact, more the exception than the rule.

So I hope we can all pause and reflect on our good fortune, and remember that the world is watching us, and relying on us to set an example, to prove that despite its flaws, this ongoing experiment can and does work.

To all my colleagues at all the great UT institutions, I hope you appreciate, as I do, the incredibly important role you play in assuring “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” for our fellow Americans. The link between the work you do – in higher education and health care – and the pursuit of a happy, healthy, and prosperous life requires no explanation.

But let me spend a moment on Liberty. I agree with the great Texan Mirabeau Lamar, who said “the cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy.” Our system of self-government relies heavily on America’s educators – from Pre-Ks to post-doctorates – to prepare each citizen to participate meaningfully. To think clearly and critically. To understand the world they live in, their interests, and their responsibilities.

So to my mind, July 4th is an especially good day to thank a teacher!

And though we call it Independence Day, I think it’s a great time to reflect on our interdependence. As proud as I am of the role our institutions play, we are just one of many, many strands that have been woven into the fabric of Texas and the United States. Our best efforts would be for naught without the support of legislators, donors, community and business leaders, police and fire departments, taxpayers, you name it.

Our ability to depend on one another is perhaps America’s greatest strength, and sustaining that ability – strengthening, even celebrating it – is a challenge that demands our very best efforts.

Remember, our founders had wildly varying views on a wide range of topics. But in signing their names to the parchment, they took heed of Benjamin Franklin’s warning, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Those words ring true today, because as Americans, we may not share the same views, but we ultimately share the same fate.

My parents and teachers taught me that American democracy is the hope of the world, and my life experiences have confirmed it many times over.

All these years later, we are still the experiment the world is watching.

We all have a role – an equally important role – to play in that experiment.

So get out there and play it.

Thanks, as always, for reading. I’ll write again soon.