A More Perfect Union

I’M ANDY REID, head football coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. For years, I’ve admired The Tabernacle Choir and its weekly program, Music & the Spoken Word. I’m honored to be part of this broadcast as we reflect on 250 years of America—a country I’m proud to call home.

Today, we celebrate that milestone. For two and a half centuries, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution have guided this nation. They set our ideals and gave usa game plan to keep moving toward what the Constitution calls a “more perfect Union.”1

As I’ve thought about that phrase, I’ve felt deep gratitude for those who’ve sacrificed to help this nation become “more.” Our Founding Fathers knew it wouldn’t be easy, but they believed that if we stayed united, we’d keep moving forward.

Whether on the football field, in our communities, or in our homes, progress can at times feel like an uphill climb. But I’ve learned that when people come together for a common goal—when they respect and support one another—progress happens. That’s what a team does. It works to get better every single day.

America was founded on the truth that “all [people] are created equal [and] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” among them “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”2

These truths have guided our nation through challenge after challenge. They help us make better decisions—and correct our mistakes. Even in difficult times, they remind us to keep going. To keep building. To keep improving.

As the Constitution was signed, Benjamin Franklin looked at a sun painted on the back of George Washington’s chair. He said he had often wondered if it was rising or setting. But in that moment, he said, “[Now I] know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun.”3

For 250 years, that sun has continued to rise on this land. And I believe it will for generations to come.

We can all do our part. We can help build a “more perfect Union”—a nation “under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”4

Constitution of the United States, Preamble.United States. Declaration of Independence. 1776.“James Madison’s Notes of the Constitutional Convention (September 17, 1787),” consource.org.U.S. Congress. House. 4 U.S.C. §4: Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery. 107th Cong., 2nd sess., 2011.