The question for this Fourth of July, as it has been since our country was founded, is this: Can we hold ourselves together as a nation and a people or will we dissolve into just a collection of tribes to eventually be torn apart?

No nation in history has been dedicated to the idea and the ideal of being so diverse in religion, race, and ethnicity while at the same time maintaining a free, broadly representative government. When our nation was founded, the whole world pretty much said it can’t work for long, it won’t last. Now that we are nearing the second decade of the 21st century, much of the world has come back around to that view.

This week News & Guts wrote about a new Gallup poll that found pride in America has slipped significantly, with less 50% of those surveyed saying they’re ‘extremely’ proud to be Americans.

With all this in mind, amid all the fireworks, parades and barbecues this Independence Day, we Americans should ponder whether we still believe in “One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” or not.