Writing a Letter On The Semiquincentennial Of The United States Of America

 Writing a Letter On The Semiquincentennial Of The United States Of America 

On the Semiquincentennial of the United States of America, I remembered that my grandparents sent me a letter in 1976 for the United States Bicentennial. Of course, I do not remember actually receiving this letter, only years later when I looked through the keepsakes and was reminded of it. Probably once a decade or so, I go through these keepsakes, reminisce about the past, and see that letter and read through it. My grandparents wanted me to have a souvenir of this Bicentennial. They also wrote that I was too young to really understand the importance of this, but hopefully when I grew into manhood I would. In the letter, my grandparents also wrote about how important freedom is and why they were so proud to be Americans.

So I decided to do the same thing, write a letter to myself as a souvenir of the Semiquincentennial. In the letter, I write about how my grandparents realized that the next time a letter like this could be written, I would be well into adulthood. Also, I predicted that they would appreciate all the hard work I did during my lifetime and all the successes that I have had, and that they would be happy that I was able to live the American dream, that their grandson loves the freedoms he has in this country, and that I am proud to be an American, just like my grandparents.

I would encourage you to write a letter to those that you love on this Semiquincentennial. You could write a letter to a young person, a person who is starting their career, or even someone who is already an adult. After reading the letter, they will be able to reflect upon their lives up to this point. After decades of only sending email correspondence and text messages, a traditional letter would be a rare and interesting keepsake and souvenir of the Semiquincentennial.

Thinking about how different the world is from the Bicentennial to this Semiquincentennial is fascinating. The rise of computers, cell phones constantly in people's hands, jobs that did not exist, and jobs that have gone extinct since that time. In 50 years, the world is a different place. With all the technological, medical, communication, and exploration of the Earth and space advances of the last half century, this world would appear so different to those in 1976.

The art of writing letters by hand has almost disappeared. Instant communication is the norm. The idea of having a tangible form of communication that a young child could pass to themselves into adulthood is being lost. This is one reason why I would encourage you to send a letter on this special occasion. Write from the heart. This souvenir could only come from writing a letter by hand. It is okay if you have some spelling errors or a combination of cursive and print. As long as they can read it, they will treasure it.

I want to wish you a very happy Semiquincentennial! Two hundred fifty years of the United States of America have passed quickly. It will not be long until there is a Quincentennial and a Millennium. Even if we will not see those, it would be interesting to predict how different the world would be 500 and 1,000 years from now. I choose to believe the world will be a better place. I believe in the future and that humanity will continue to grow, learn, and improve.

Computed