I tried again with different flowers. These will have to do. Nothing can be perfect.
I will quote the great Dan Rather this morning from his Twitter feed:
"This is a July 4 of pain, uncertainty, and reckoning. I pause with open eyes, and an open heart. I am listening. I am moved. I am angry. I am determined."
I'm also confused, and a bit frightened, because I feel like we are about to be hit by a tidal wave, and I don't know where the high ground is.
In our United States, it is our Independence Day, though, and we haven't had one like this one in a long time. What I did decide to do was to read our Declaration of Independence. We, of course, read it through 21st century eyes, but it is well that we go through the document, written in another turbulent time, when we just started to strive towards equality for all. We started, after all, with a country that allowed the enslavement of people, and did not allow women the right to vote. We were far from perfect.
Our task, now, is, once again, to move towards that perfection.
Once again, we live in great, dangerous times. Every day, as we act, we are writing history.
I believe we can live up to the modern meaning of our Declaration of Independence.
But first, we have to unite, and stay the course. I hope that tomorrow, I can feel a bit more optimistic that we can do that.
If you are in the United States, have a good and meaningful Independence Day.
...all of life is blurry at the moment!
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th, Am!
ReplyDeleteWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
ReplyDeleteWords written in the 18th century. Words that some powers in Washington need to be reminded of.
What a great idea to reread the Declaration of Independence. I just watched the film Hamilton too. So inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThese times of trouble happen so that we can see what still needs work. We can choose to do the work, or we can choose to hide from it. I hope that more of us are choosing to do the work than not. Maybe this time we'll get closer to our ideals.
ReplyDeleteMy adult children just watched Hamilton (the stage show) on Disney Plus, and I overheard parts of it. It could have been dialog overheard today. Dan Rather has said some amazing things lately.
ReplyDeletewe haven't had one like this one in a long time. Isn't that the truth. Nice looking flowers
ReplyDelete