As Liberia closes another Independence Week, perhaps the most important question before us is not whether we celebrated well. It is whether we remember well.
For many Liberians, Independence Day has become another public holiday, another parade, another speech, another social media post--another jolly-jolly. Yet Independence was never meant to be merely celebrated. It was meant to be understood.
In that regard, this year's Independence Orator, Dr. Herbert Brewer, did the nation a service by reminding us that history is not simply a record of the past. It is a blueprint for the future. A people who become disconnected from their history eventually become disconnected from themselves.
Long before the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1847, this land was home to organized societies with systems of governance, commerce and justice. The Kru mastered the Atlantic. The Vai developed one of Africa's few indigenous writing systems. The Bassa, Grebo, Gola, Kpelle, Gio, Mano, Lorma, Kissi, Mandingo, Belle and many others nurtured societies founded on family, honor, courage, hospitality, hard work and communal responsibility.
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The Grain Coast earned its reputation not because it possessed the largest armies or the richest kingdoms, but because its people created value. They traded honestly, built relationships and honored their word. Character was wealth long before wealth became character.
Then another extraordinary chapter was added to our story.
Freed men and women crossed the Atlantic carrying a dream that had survived slavery itself -- liberty, constitutional government, education, enterprise and self-determination. Together with those already on this land, they established Africa's first independent republic.
Both streams of heritage belong to Liberia. One should never erase the other.
Our future does not lie in choosing between indigenous Liberia and settler Liberia. It lies in embracing both honestly, learning from both humbly and correcting where each fell short. Together they form the foundation of one Republic.
Yet another danger now confronts us. Modern Liberia increasingly lives on cultural autopilot.
We import and imitate almost everything, then curse ourselves and our country for not being "up to standard." We measure ourselves against standards created elsewhere while investing too little in creating standards of our own.
Much of our fashion, entertainment and even our aspirations come from elsewhere. Beyond unmistakably Liberian expressions such as Kolokwa, country cloth and our resilient spirit, we increasingly adopt ideas, tastes and values without asking whether they reflect who we are.
This is not merely a cultural problem.
It is an economic problem, a leadership problem and, above all, an identity problem.
People who do not know who they are usually spend their lives consuming what others produce. Nations are no different. The less a country produces -- its own ideas, technology, food, clothing, entertainment and solutions -- the more dependent it becomes on what others create. Soon, we begin to believe that excellence always comes from somewhere else.
That belief is dangerous.
The strength of any nation depends on what it contributes to the world, not simply on what it consumes from it.
Economists measure this through the 'balance of payments' -- the record of money flowing into and out of a country through trade and investment. Nations that consistently import far more than they produce or export steadily transfer wealth, jobs, industries and innovation to other countries. In many ways, our dependence on imports is simply the economic expression of a deeper habit of imitation and imports.
We import food we can grow, clothing we can sew, furniture we can build and software our young people can develop. We have herbal remedies for nearly every disease growing on our soil. Yet we underinvest in our own innovators, creators and inventors while searching abroad for solutions that may already exist in Liberian minds.
History tells us this was never our identity.
The people of the Grain Coast were producers, traders, navigators, craftsmen and entrepreneurs. Others crossed oceans because of what this land and its people produced. The founders of the Republic built schools, newspapers, farms, businesses and institutions because they believed Liberia had something unique to offer humanity.
That creative spirit has never disappeared.
It is still within us.
Too often, however, our ingenuity is directed toward the wrong ends. The same brilliance that should be building businesses, advancing science, improving agriculture and strengthening public institutions is too often wasted on corruption, political manipulation and personal enrichment.
Intelligence without character builds nothing that lasts.
Yet evidence of Liberian brilliance is everywhere. Our signature snap handshake has travelled the world. Our Jollof rice has become part of international culinary conversations. Our athletes compete at the highest levels. Our scholars teach in respected universities. Our entrepreneurs succeed across continents.
Liberians do not lack talent.
We often lack the confidence, discipline and national commitment to develop that talent here at home.
The Bible tells of servants entrusted with different talents. Those who invested and multiplied what they received were rewarded. The one who buried his gift lost even that.
The lesson applies to nations as surely as it does to individuals.
When a people neglect the gifts, God has placed within them, those gifts eventually flourish somewhere else.
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A nation that knows its identity begins to produce. A nation that produces gains confidence. Confidence inspires innovation. Innovation creates prosperity. Prosperity earns influence. Influence gives a nation purpose and power.
This is how countries rise.
As we mark 179 years of independence, perhaps the greatest act of patriotism is not simply to wave the flag or sing the National Anthem. It is to rediscover who we are, cultivate what God has placed within us and produce something that leaves the world better than we found it.
History alone will not pave our roads or eliminate corruption. But history reminds us of who we are supposed to become.
As Independence Week comes to a close, let this be our prayer and our pledge: that we will remember who we are, produce what only we can produce, build what only we can build and leave to future generations a Liberia that is more confident, more creative and more prosperous than the one we inherited.
Let us stop asking what the world can make for Liberia and start asking what Liberia can make for the world.
Only by returning to our roots can we discover our purpose. Only by discovering our purpose can we produce with confidence. And only by producing can Liberia fully become "this glorious land of liberty" that, in the words of our National Anthem, "shall long be ours."
#GoLiberia
