It was something special to visit the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis this week just before our first 4th of July celebration with an African-American presiding in the White House. The place was full of exhibits detailing our national leadership's recalcitrance regarding, and outright hostility to, the centuries-long civil rights movement (Governor Ross Barnett of Mississippi always sticks in my mind, for some reason). Of course, there were a lot of European-Americans who bravely supported such efforts over the decades, but even the most far-sighted, like A. Lincoln, had to move with great care once they achieved high office. In short, none of it was easy and much of it came in the last handful of decades.

Not surprising to my way of thinking, it was after the super-connecting experience of World War II that America got serious about civil rights for African Americans. The fact that one-tenth of Americans traveled/deployed abroad across that conflict, and that we assumed a true global leadership role following it, contributed to our finally tackling this hugely divisive subject. It was just a national embarrassment we could no longer endure, once it became so exposed through such heightened connectivity. I mean, how can you be the "leader of the free world" and behave like that at home?

But here we are living in a vastly different age, and that's a boatload of change recognized by this 47-year-old citizen.

Best to everyone on this day of national celebration.