Loving this nation doesn’t mean staying blind to its faults. Not staying blind to its faults doesn’t mean “drudging up the past.” Not staying blind and being honest enough to examine where we’ve been also means demanding more as we go forward.
Why would we fear demanding more of ourselves going forward?
Frederick Douglass gives me yet another piece of contemplation in his speech “What is the Slave to the 4th of July?”
The essence is this:
Douglass said: July 4, rightly understood, should be day of both celebration and mourning. We should celebrate the ideals articulated in the Declaration. We should mourn our failure to live up to those ideals in our lives and laws. We should mourn, and then we should commit to fight for those ideals anew. (More HERE.)
And this quote: We can be haunted by our national ghosts and yet still call to our better angels.
I am for honest history. I am for demanding more of ourselves. I am thankful for freedom.
A happy and safe 4th.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 