All It Takes Is A Little Love

It will be a very quiet Fourth of July in our house this year. Our neighbor who used to host parties has moved away so nothing will be happening on our street as a community effort. My father-in-law is on a special diet after a short hospitalization a week ago so we won’t be enjoying barbecue either. In the past we have often been traveling on July 4, but this year we will be staying home because I will be going to physical therapy twice a week until the end of the month. Nonetheless I have decked my home in lots of red, white and blue because I love this country of ours with every fiber of my being even as I am worried about its future right now. 

I suppose that if I had not been a teacher I might have enjoyed being a lawyer or focusing on a political career. My favorite books have often been historical and more often than not they have told the story of our nation and its founders and leaders. I’ve read about the Pilgrims who came across the ocean hoping to find freedom from persecution because they did not want to be forced to adhere to the national religion of their country. I’ve learned about the humanity and dreams of Founding Fathers like Alexander Hamilton who rose from an impoverished and neglected childhood to become a respected innovator in the years of George Washington’s presidency. I’ve marveled at the brilliance and wisdom of Benjamin Franklin and the progressive intellect of Abigail Adams. The list of biographies and historical tracts that I have consumed since my high school days is far too long to iterate, but needless to say I have followed the journey of the United States from its beginning to the present with the tales of those who sometimes faltered and those who rose to unmitigated heroism in pursuit of the dreams that we celebrate each July Fourth. 

I understand both the greatness and the dire imperfections of the United States of America. Part of its glory lies in a willingness to tell even uncomfortable truths about its evolution. The imperfections are shameful, but there has always been a group of individuals determined to set things right. Those efforts have sometimes taken decades or even centuries to properly address. We are a nation not of a single way of thinking, a single culture or religion because that is the way those who came here envisioned the future. Often the ideal was tainted by the kind of ignorance and greed that allowed slavery to exist far too long. While Abigail Adams urged her husband not to forget the ladies it would be well over a century before women were able to vote. Our forebears’ interactions with the Native People of our land would have been more noble if we had considered the original inhabitants to be equal to those who immigrated here from across the ocean. We have hurt many in the imperfect quest to provide all people opportunities for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

Incrementally we have made strides but there is still work to do on this July 4, 2024 if we are to fully embrace the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. We are broken and divided at the moment as to how to achieve our goals and even as to what our goals should be. We are more inclined to quibble over small things right now than to imagine a more perfect union of many people and cultures. We are still trying to decide if there is only one way of doing things or many ideas that must be legitimized. 

Today I see that we the people of the United States of America must demand that our chosen leaders remain mindful of the needs of all rather than a single group. Surely we have learned that ignoring our flaws has never proven to make us better. Surely we should want to correct our mistakes, not compound them by designing our laws to reflect a single way of thinking. We need to read the Declaration of Independence and the words of those who signed that document. We must reflect on history and use its lessons to do better. We must move forward, adapting to the changing nature of the world as it is, not as it was long ago. We must do our best to finally embrace all the people who make up our nation and even those who wish to one day be part of our nation. 

I love my country but I know that it is at a very dangerous moment in its history. I celebrate the best of what the United States has produced, a nation of many colors, many ideas, many yearnings. I do not want to squelch the variety of anyone in a misguided effort to make us all the same. Nobody came here at any time just to become carbon copies of a single way of thinking and believing. They came because they longed for the freedom to be themselves without being harassed to change. We have not always been kind to those who are different but the ideal of all being equal is still in the words that are heralded this very day. Lest we forget this would be a wonderful time to renew a vow to liberty, equality and justice for all. Our Founders gave us a blueprint expecting us to make things even better as we grew as a nation and as we matured as citizens. If we remember the dream that was incomplete on that long ago day our country will evolve many times to accommodate those who must be part of our incredible family.

Enjoy the freedom today and celebrate our liberties always bearing in mind that they are ours only if we are mindful of how to keep them. We are the protectors of our democratic republic and we must be wary of handing it over to anyone set on dividing us and tearing us apart. We are better when we accept each other without all the negative “isms” that those Pilgrims were trying to escape. We honor our nation most when we remember why it came about and how it has rightfully changed to be a better and better version of itself. Take time to think of what this day is all about.

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. It was a bold move that endangered the very lives of the signers. In doing so they were thought to be traitors with potential death by hanging, the usual punishment for such egregious an action. In the estimation of the king and Great Britain these were not heroes but horrific men whose ideas went against everything that citizens were supposed to believe. They were thought to be rebels, not patriots, and many colonists were appalled as well, remaining loyal to the king. Not everyone agreed with the tactics of our Founding Fathers. They began as a minority that would have to prove its mettle. Most people believed that their efforts would fail even after they defeated Great Britain and earned their independence. The bet was that the effort would ultimately fail.

The United States of America has never been perfect. It began with slavery intact even as some of the signers of the Declaration had hoped to outlaw that horrific practice from the start. It took a long time to get past that original sin and even longer to give women the right to vote. Even when slaves were freed it was over a century before the horrors of segregation were overturned. With each move toward a more perfect union brave souls like our Founding Fathers have risked violence and imprisonment and sometimes even death to bring changes that were more just and equitable. 

Many of our Founding Fathers were young people in their teens and twenties. Somehow our young people are often more courageous than adults who don’t like to rock the boat. Teens and twenty year olds often endure violence and misunderstanding as they bravely stand up for what they believe to be right. Our national history demonstrates that time and time again they have carried us into a better future even as many mock them and misunderstand their motives. Change is never easy and sometimes truth is difficult to accept. 

We are at a tenuous moment in time. Our very democracy seems to be dangling on a precipice. We have elected officials mixing religion with affairs of state, insisting that immigrants must abide by our “national Christianity.” We have those who deride protestors whose opinions are different from theirs. Sadly the racism that bred slavery and Jim Crow policies still lurks under cover and sometimes even in plain sight. There is a push and pull between progress and longing for earlier times when many among us were treated like second class citizens. We too often ignore the effect of nature on all of us and carp about having to make sacrifices to invest in our environment for the sake of its preservation. Our Congress is as fractured as it was just before the Civil War and many ridiculously suggest that maybe it is time for another rupture in our union. 

Somehow we have lost our way and can’t seem to work together to bring ourselves back to the idea that all people are created equal and deserve the same opportunities and freedoms. It took us time to reach a close approximation to closing all the gaps and now we seem to be making them open wider again. We cling to guns and religion instead of acknowledging that it is our diversity that makes us strong, not our sameness. We forget how many people came to our shores running from nationalized religions that would have forced them to abandon their personal beliefs. We ignore evidence that differing ways of expressing our sexuality are personal and not indicators of perversion. We judge and foist our ideas on others in the same way that the king of England did in the long ago. We give the wealthy enormous tax breaks and then overburden the middle class with payments to the government. We constantly devalue the ideas of our young forgetting that it was young men who made us free and keep us there to this very day. 

I think each of us would do well to consider the long history of our nation as we vote for those who will represent us, judge us, and serve as our chief executive officer. We should ask ourselves if we are voting for freedom for all or freedom for only those who fall in line with our personal philosophies. We should send men and women to Congress who will work together to implement laws not to punish certain groups, Their goals should be to enhance the lives of everyone regardless of religion or race or sexual preferences. We should beware of tyrants who would punish differences and demand a kingly loyalty. 

This July 4, 2024 is a time to remember Washington and Lincoln and great heroes who wanted to create and defend an enlightened nation, not one in retrograde. Together we are strong. With truth we become more perfect. Let us work for those things even before we cook the barbecue and light the fireworks. That is what this holiday should be about.  

I had decided to be mostly quiet this election cycle. I am weary of all the divisiveness that has infected our electorate. I believed in the American people and in our system of government to uphold the tenets of our democracy. I was unwilling to listen to those who issued hyperbolic warnings about the health of our democracy. I didn’t want to engage in arguments with friends or family members whom I love. I wanted to just quietly cast my vote in November and wait for the results, hoping for the outcome that I long to see. With the latest decision of the Supreme Court I am not able to be silent. I truly believe that our democratic republic, and with it our freedoms, are in jeopardy and I would be derelict if I said nothing. 

I will begin by admitting that it is unlikely that I will influence anyone with this essay. I don’t expect to change the outcome that will eventually happen. What I do want is to go on record publicly so that one day my children and grandchildren will have proof that I tried to speak up for the preservation of our democracy. It is a right that I still have and I want to use it until which time I may lose the freedom of speech that I so cherish. While I would never in my wildest imaginings have considered that I might one day be held to account for exercising a freedom that I have admittedly taken for granted for seventy-five years, I now worry that recent events are leading to a possible situation in which I will be punished for speaking in a way contrary to those who have brought us to this moment in our history. 

I am of course speaking about the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision regarding immunity for Donald Trump with regard to his part in attempting to change the results of the election of 2020 which he lost. The conservative court has essentially said that for the most part Donald Trump was acting in an official capacity when he asked Mike Pence to throw out electors and substitute them with people willing to hand the election to Trump. As such his actions before and during January 6, are immune to any kind of prosecution. The same is true of his commands that the Justice Department find ways to change the votes in his favor. With this outrageous decision a legal can of worms has created a situation in which it will forevermore be all but impossible to prosecute a President for actions that are deemed to be part of his or her official duties of the office. 

Not even the testimony of those who spoke with Trump and might be witnesses to his traitorous efforts can be used as evidence if those comments were made in an official capacity. It feels as though our very democracy has been made vulnerable to anyone with evil intent. It is a stunning development that worries me immensely. It appears to be open ended permission for Trump and any future Presidents to use the office for personal gain or vindictive and criminal behavior with immunity. It is a sham case which brings about the fruition of the worst nightmares of those who created our nation’s Constitution. It makes the President of the United States a weapon welding kinglike figure who can claim official reasons for persecuting anyone who disagrees with his or her decisions.

Forevermore we the people will have to be very careful who we put into the White House. Of course this has always been the case, but now finding men and women of sterling character is of the utmost importance. We can only send those who will not game the system to increase or retain their power. We will need to consider the morality of an individual with serious care and sadly Donald Trump has already boasted that he will be a dictator for a day and that he plans to get retribution from those whom he believes were disloyal to him. He is posting wanted posters of Liz Cheney on X. These are not good signs, especially in light of the reality that he will now feel free to claim presidential immunity simply by indicating that his actions are part of his official duties as the chief executive of the country. 

This is a moment that history will remember. Children will learn the date January 1, 2024 and hopefully it will not be to indicate the end of our republic as we have known it, but as the moment when we realized the danger of this decision and joined together to be certain that Donald J, Trump would never again be allowed to lead our country. He represents a clear and present danger to our democratic republic and we would be foolhardy to test his honor when he has so blatantly shown us the true nature of his intentions.

I know peril when I see it. My single mom taught me to always be aware of my surroundings. My radar his going off loudly in this moment. My children and my grandchildren are concerned about what the future of our country will be. The rest of the world is holding its breath wondering if we will be the dependable allies that we have so often been. At this point only those of us who vote have the ability to insure that the man who attempted to overthrow the government on January 6, 2020 will never again have presidential power. 

This is a watershed moment. We have an opportunity to stop the danger if we have the will to do so. If we do not join together to save our country I fear that a time may come when we look back on this moment as the day when all the we hold sacred fell into the hands of a bad man who has brought division, shame and uncertainty to us all. We have to use our rights while they still exist. Vote against Donald Trump. I will vote for Joe Biden as I urge every American who loves this country to do. He is a good and honest man. Give him the time and the people to set things right.

For the sake of my children I dissent! For the sake of my friends, neighbors and extended family I dissent! For the sake of every student I have ever taught I dissent! For the sake of my fellow Americans I dissent! “With fear for our democracy I dissent!”

Vote out this danger in November.  

In the long ago when I was a young woman about to graduate from the University of Houston I was nominated by my professors for a prestigious award that would have named me the most likely to succeed in my future career as a teacher. I was of course quite flattered to even be considered for such an honor but I also secretly hoped to win the designation. 

I donned the suit that I had purchased to wear to my job interviews and carefully applied my makeup and styled my hair on the day that I was to be interviewed for the award. I wanted to make a professional impression on the judges, but my efforts would soon be thwarted. As I walked across the campus to my destination the wind suddenly picked up and blew my hair in every possible direction. Then without warning a sprinkle of rain made my unkempt locks damp just to add to my harried appearance. As I walked into the building hoping to have time to tidy myself before the appointed hour of my interview I snagged my pantyhose on a loose screw connected to the door. Since it was anathema in those days to show bare legs with professional attire I had to hope that nobody would notice the ragged tear than ran from my knee down to my ankle. 

I rushed to the ladies room to see how much damage had occurred during my journey across the campus and found my hair matted and askew. Not even my best efforts were enough to make me look more presentable and I began to feel the anxiety rising in my already nervous mind. it felt as though everything was going wrong and that I was losing control of the situation. 

I had to take a deep breath and hope that I might talk my way through the questions of the judges and that they would not be superficial enough to notice how disheveled I had become. I was determined not to let four years of hard work and a reputation for excellence be undermined by last minute accidents. After all, teaching is all about being ready for the unexpected and I had already proven my muster for that during my weeks of student teaching. I felt ready even if a bit more nonplussed than I had intended to be. 

There were three people sitting behind a desk and I was motioned to a chair in front of them. They were rather quiet and stern, not wishing to favor me with smiles or greetings. The business like atmosphere felt more like an inquisition than an attempt to get to know me. The butterflies inside my stomach launched with force and I realized that one of my legs was shaking. I hoped that they would not notice.

The questions that they asked took me by surprise. As I listened to my answers I knew that I was not making the impression that I had hoped to achieve. I argued with myself inside my brain wondering why I was having so much difficulty expressing my true beliefs. I am a person who revels in words and phrases. I love being a debater and speaker but somehow this venue was working against me. I understood before I even left that I had blown my chance at an award that would have opened so many doors of opportunity for me. I had not even smiled during my recitations, not even once. I felt that the judges must have been wondering why I was even nominated. 

I thought of my youthful experience last week after the presidential debate in which President Joe Biden came across as weak and perhaps too old to handle the job that he has held so graciously for four years. His raspy voice and resigned manner seemed to signal that he was not ready for four more years. His answers while filled with factual evidence did not land on the target. He seemed almost overwhelmed by the entire experience. I felt his pain and recalled my own dark moment when I was somehow unable to make my responses sound reasonable. I too had been in such a place and it did not happen because I was too old or too young or somehow inept. It was just a momentary failure that occurred at the worst possible time. 

I admittedly believe that both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are too old to hold the highest office in the land. I would like to have a choice between younger people, but since that is not to be, I will continue my unequivocal support for President Biden. I cannot imagine voting for a convicted felon who lies with every breath he takes and refuses to accept that he had lost the race in 2020. A bad moment in a ninety minute debate no more defines President Biden than my interview created an accurate picture of me. 

I was way more than the sum of my answers to questions that somehow baffled me just as President Biden is way more than his quiet and sometimes meandering responses were in that debate. We have to look at the whole picture of individuals if we are to know them well enough to determine how they will perform in some future time. I went on to become an excellent educator. I did well wherever I worked. I was dedicated and determined to make a positive difference in the lives of my students. This is how I see President Biden as well. 

Joe Biden has been a calm and thoughtful leader through some of the most difficult times in this nation. His steady hand has kept us from a recession, brought down the unemployment rate to its lowest percent since the nineteen sixties. He has regularly fought for the rights of the downtrodden and is an honest and caring man. His opponent on the other hand has fomented violence and anger while offering nothing that would benefit all people in this country. If anyone should step out of the race it should be Trump, and since he never will, then I will proudly vote for Joe Biden. I don’t want our nation or our democracy to fail and it surely will under the tyranny and ignorance of Donald Trump. 

Bad moments happen to everyone. Nobody can say that they do not have a memory that they regret. Strong people confess their difficulties, pick themselves up and move forward. President Biden has already done that and he is ready to fight for all of us. I only hope that enough of our citizens will refuse to be influenced by a single moment in time.  

In what feels like a time of long ago I used to arise early in the morning to drive across town for a meet up with my friend, Cappy. We’d share a quick cup of coffee or tea and then hit the road in search of treasures in thrift stores. Cappy was quite professional in her knowledge of the best places to find bargains. She had done much study of antiques, quality brands and methods for determining the true worth of objects languishing almost forgotten in bins. Her tools included a magnifying glass for reading small print. She had reference books in the back of her car. She kept blankets in her trunk for padding delicate items. She knew the value of things that might have been overlooked by the average shopper. She also kept track of days when things went on sale to make room for new inventory. She was a serious thrifter on a mission to decorate her home tastefully, find unusual gifts for friends, and keep her closet filled with couture clothing. 

I never knew where we would end up shopping. It was always a grand adventure that took us to the outskirts of River Oaks, the most exclusive neighborhood in Houston, or along Harrisburg Blvd. where we walked around homeless people languishing on the sidewalk. Once inside it always took a while to focus beyond the seeming piles of junk. I learned from Cappy how to concentrate like an archeologist at a dg so that I would be able to see a treasure hiding in plain view among a mountain of used items hardly worthy of notice. Nothing was too daunting for Cappy as she moved things around until she uncovered a classic high end purse hiding underneath plastic ones that were worn and torn. A quick look at the lining inside told her that she had indeed found something remarkable. So it was as we spent hours examining every aisle with the observations and patience of miners panning for gold. 

As we performed the deep examination of every inch of the store we would talk and laugh and feel as though the exercise of friendship alone was worth the trip even if we came up empty handed. There would be other places to visit and more time to search. It was in our friendship that we found our greatest joy. The objects that we lugged out to her car were lagniappe, the gravy on our time together. 

Cappy always insisted that we sanitize our hands after digging through the dust of orphaned dishes, clothing, books and furniture. She seemed able to gauge when our enthusiasm was lagging and it was time to get some lunch. She always had coupons for deals on food that determined where we would eat. Even that was part of the fun. We might enjoy two for one burgers or plates of hummus depending on what modes of saving were tucked away in her purse. 

I can’t even begin to describe the joy that I felt on those excursions when we would spend twelve hour days searching for things without any real plan. I remember one time when I purchased a very nice oversized shirt that I thought would be fun to wear with leggings. It was in almost brand new condition and best of all it was soft and comfortable. I think I paid two or three dollars for what had no doubt cost more than fifty dollars when it was brand new. I was so happy with my purchase that I took it out of the bag to inspect it one more time as soon as we got back into the car. Suddenly I noticed a bulge in one of the side pockets. When I reached inside I found a pair of lovely earrings that the previous owner might have slipped off one day and placed inside the lining of the pocket. I wondered if she had thought that her lovely earrings were lost because they had snuggled so deeply near the seam that they were hardly noticeable. The earrings were even nicer than the shirt but I felt guilty that they had become lost inside the deep hiding place. Cappy only laughed and remarked that every thrifter knows that sometimes the best part of a purchase comes as a surprise. 

Cappy moved away some time ago and I have nobody who likes to tour thrift shops with me. I’ve tried going alone but it is not nearly as much fun as having my friend by my side. I realize that it was never about the finds for me. It was always about spending time with someone who allowed me to laugh or cry or just be silent if I so desired. Special people like Cappy are difficult to find. 

We talk on the phone as often as we can. Cappy is still an inveterate thrift shopper. She finds little stores selling used items on all of her trips and reports her successes to me with commentaries and photos. She has an eye for color that allows her to put together rooms with objects from disparate places. They blend as though she had planned for them before she ever saw them. She uses and reuses things in ways that few of us would ever think of doing. She finds beauty in the discarded just as she always remains a loving and faithful friend. 

One day I hope to go visit Cappy in her new home in Florida. She tells me that she has found some wonderful thrift stores there and urges me to come explore them with her. I definitely have to find the time to travel there just be with her again. She has the most beautiful way of finding worth in people and things that others have discarded. I want to feel that love that she so generously offers in person once again. Maybe we will even find an unexpected treasure that I was not even aware that I needed.