I’ve been thinking about July 4, Independence Day, all month long now, just as I have been looking back on my life and what it has meant. I suppose that I see the Declaration of Independence as the same kind of ideal that by which I have always measured my own purpose in the world. I realize the countless mistakes that I have made, the time wasted when I might have been improving myself, I have also celebrated the glorious moments when I knew that I had succeeded in coming closer to being the person that I want to be. So it is with our nation, a country developed by imperfect humans who no doubt had different dreams and ideas as they signed that document so long ago.
Even a brief and narrow study of the history or the United States of America leads to so many contradictions. On the one hand it has been a place where freedom to express our views has been cherished, but not always given evenly to everyone. In the beginning it seems that the idea of equality was a gift enjoyed only by white men. Nevertheless, our freedoms grew in stages because there were indeed brave souls willing to point out the flaws with our government, just as the Founders had critiqued the authoritarianism of the King of England. There was a second Independence day for enslaved people almost one hundred years later when Abraham Lincoln declared that the barbaric practice of slavery could not longer be considered legal in a nation founded on the idea that all men are created equal.
It took even more time to recognize the right of women to vote even though Abigail Adams had urged her husband John to “remember the ladies,” It was only incrementally that the United State of America grew in fairness and justice for all. At times it even regressed just as each of us has done at different times in our lives. The Jim Crow days of segregation and degradation was a horrific moment when our laws were twisted to excuse unfairly demeaning laws our Black citizens.
The Civil Rights movement of the nineteen fifties and sixties seemed to finally create a legal basis for striving toward equality for all. Sadly, we are still attempting to determine how to achieve a goal that is continually hampered by “isms” that rank people rather than accepting them as they are. We Americans know that we may be a nation of mostly good people, but there is still hate that we must root out and overcome.
Yes, the United States of America is an imperfect union of many voices, many beliefs, many colors and cultures. It can be a glorious bastion of freedom or one that stubbornly judges certain of its citizens to be inferior. With over three hundred million people in our land it can be difficult to balance all of the conflicting ideas just as it must have been when there were far few men and women living in the original thirteen colonies. Nevertheless we have indeed mostly moved forward. We have been progressive in righting the wrongs of the past. We have welcomed people from all over the world longing to be free. Ours is a very human experience that is wrought with the kind of difficulties that we all experience in our own lives.
I could dwell on my mistakes from the past and those that I am making in the present, but it is better to look at the bigger picture of my life. I know I have tried and sometimes failed to be the best version of myself So too it has been with the United States of America and it is okay to point that out. Being blind to our faults is not being patriotic. In fact, I believe that those who ask us to improve our nation demonstrate their love for the country and its citizens. Just like our parents corrected us when we behaved badly, so too do wise men and women point out the times when our country has been wrong. This is how humans and human institutions grow.
My fourth of July was admittedly quite boring this year. Most of my friends and members of my family were out of town celebrating in grand places. I was home with my father-in-law who has lived here for one year now. I have not yet found a way to leave him long enough to take a trip. My husband spent the months of June and July with follow up doctors’ appointments after a near death experience with his heart. I’ve mostly been isolated and confined to my thoughts these days and it has not been a totally bad experience. Sometimes it’s actually quite good to take time to analyze one’s life and to honestly admit to the moments that might have been better if only we had been more courageous and honest with ourselves. To everything there is indeed a season and perhaps mine is supposed to focus on contemplation for now. Maybe all of us who are citizens of the United States would do well to spend some time thinking about our history and preparing for our future.
We will soon be celebrating another milestone. In 2026, the United States will be two hundred fifty years old, a feat that seemed impossible back in 1776. We have endured many challenges together and somehow managed to find ways to keep our system going. The USA may seem to be troubled right now and we may be feeling overwhelmed. Challenges are part of the human experience and we generally weather them best when we are willing to appreciate our differences rather that feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys. If our beloved country is to continue for another two hundred fifty years we will have to be willing to come together without rancor and work toward keeping a democracy that should continue to evolve with the times. I believe that we will do it. Somehow we always have. It is a worthy and very human project.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 