I read in a recent social media posting someone claiming that July 4th was set aside to celebrate our government leaders. Respectfully I disagree with that sentiment. That is not the purpose behind the holiday in my mind. I still plan on celebrating the holiday, participating in a festivity or two in the community, and having our traditional family holiday luncheon. I'm keeping a focus on what's still good here, and for as much that is going wrong, there are plenty of things still going right.
As one of those weird people who appreciate history, I love looking at this holiday in a historical context. From the time it began our country went through a lot of difficulties. I see the points on where it has grown and improved. As a general rule of life, difficult times happen, but history has shown that we can learn from them, hard as they may get. Sometimes it takes a big kick in the head for some of us to realize what we need to learn but learning and growth is inevitable following such an ordeal. I'm always amazed at what happens to people in difficult times. It's in those moments where you see human nature at its worst, and at its best. Ugly things happen, yet so do the most inspiring and heroic stories told! It's these latter people I celebrate on this holiday.
Even though things look dismal for a good portion of our society, there is something still worth celebrating. What is it? It's the beautiful dream as beautifully expressed by Martin Luther King, Jr.:
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.
This is a dream worth keeping active for all of us here. I know there are groups not mentioned in this speech, but in this context, it is understood that he is speaking of every human being of all races and beliefs.
I celebrate the Declaration of Independence and its historical significance, and the initial rights provided in the constitution, not necessarily as it is being currently implemented. I celebrate our communities who are willing to work toward this goal. I celebrate individuals who are devoted to helping and befriending their neighbors of different viewpoints and experiences. Much good has been fought for and achieved that I cannot list on this simple blog post, and so many of those are worthy of celebration.
Positive thinking, it's a difficult thing to do when you see so much wrong happening, but it's still possible. With all that seems to be going wrong, there are so many things going right as well. Sometimes those things are hard to see due to the loudness of all the frustrated voices, but they are indeed there when you're ready to find them. Seek them, for those things are absolutely worth celebrating!
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| Freedom Festival Balloon Fest from back in 2001. Family Archives Collection. |
