Just how young is America this July 4th?

Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is to think of an 80-year-old man living today.  Go back to the year he was born, 1936, and find an 80-year-old living in that day.  Now, go back 80 years to the year that that man was born, 1856, and find an 80-year-old fellow.  Go back one more 80-year span to the day that that man was born and you have...1776, the birth of America.

So three 80-year-olds living back to back to back from 1776 takes us to 2016.

Of course, America today at the young-old age of 240 is not quite the grown-up place it was at its birth.  Back in 1776, the citizens were standing up to and attempting to defeat the most powerful military on the planet.  And through much suffering and sacrifice in the years following their bold Declaration, they joined together as a nation and got the job done.

Since World War II, America has itself become the most powerful military force on the planet.  Yet with seemingly lackadaisical attention to our porous southern border and the very real threat of radical Islam, one might wonder how "grown up" America has become in almost two and a half centuries. 

Vicious troubles haunt this country – and the world – but what is it that occupies the time and energy of a 240-year-old America?  Sadly, it's...who gets to use which bathroom.

This country may be older, but it certainly seems to lack the maturity – and wisdom – that comes with age.

Makes you wonder: what will America be like when a baby born this year turns 8, let alone 80?