As we say goodbye to July and fireworks and parades and patriotic speeches and all the other stuff that accompanied the USA’s 250th birthday celebration, I’ve decided to write about two people who played an enormous part not only in our separation from England but in the ensuing success of our brand-new nation.
The list, of course, is long.
Not choosing Thomas Jefferson or Samuel Adams or John Adams or Abigail Adams or Alexander Hamilton or Patrick Henry or Betsy Ross or Thomas Paine or countless others doesn’t discount their contributions. But my column must fit in its allotted space in this newspaper, so there’s a word limit. Meaning I can never say everything I want to say on any given subject. Aren’t you glad?
The first patriot I’m writing about today is known as the Father of His Country. A second grader will get that right, right? I’m such a fan of George Washington that I braved the crowds at the Highland 12 Cinema on the actual Fourth of July to attend a matinee showing of “Young Washington.” I won’t write much about that harrowing experience except to say that buying a movie ticket is a whole lot more complicated than it used to be. The theatre was packed. So packed, in fact, that my two friends and I got the last three seat available, none of which—as bad luck would have it—were together.
As the title might suggest, “Young Washington” is about George’s childhood and youth and about the role he played in the French and Indian War, which was fought in North America from 1754-1763 between Great Britain and France and their respective indigenous allies. That war helped start the American colonies on the path to independence.
From an early age, Washington—whose father died when George was 11—showed himself to be bright, curious, ambitious and brave. The French and Indian War provided him not only with valuable military experience but also shaped his opinions about the relationship between the American colonies and the British crown.
As even the dullest student of history knows, Washington went on to become commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, President of the Constitutional Convention and the first President of the United States. Of course he had his flaws, slaveholding being at the top of the list. But the more I learn about George Washington, the more I believe we wouldn’t have had the United States of America without him.
Next up is my favorite American of all times: Benjamin Franklin. He’s been my hero since I was seven years old and read the Little Golden Book version of “Ben and Me” for the first time. Printer, inventor (the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove and much, much more), accomplished swimmer, writer, philosopher, politician, abolitionist, scientist, diplomat and citizen of the world, Ben truly had it all. And he used his gifts for the betterment of humankind.
I was lucky enough to meet Ben Franklin in person earlier this summer at the Putnam County Library. If I hadn’t been certain I was there more than 320 years after Ben was born, I would have sworn he was in the room with us. Crossville actor Dave Mitchell WAS Ben Franklin, from his clothes to his hair to blue eyes that twinkled behind the round metal glasses perched on the end of his nose.
He read the Declaration of Independence aloud. He talked about his life and showed off some of his inventions. He urged audience members to read and think and explore and to never give up and to be kind to one another. I feel sad for anyone who wasn’t there that afternoon.
Let’s keep celebrating this once-in-a-lifetime semiquincentennial as long as we’re able. And let’s never forget the many patriots who are the reason we have the United States of America.
(August 1, 2026)