Independence Day looked a bit different this year. The ultimate mid-summer holiday, the 4th of July is officially the day we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our liberation from British rule: the birth of our own nation. Those fireworks we set off represent the guns and cannons that got us here through grassroots revolution. Our national anthem too refers to our flag flying over the ramparts, lit up by the light of rockets and bombs bursting as our enemy attacked our fortress. Our country was born out of the fight against oppression and the shackles of an authority that limited our freedom.
The celebrations in our neighborhood were quieter this year, the beaches closed to revelers, the firework displays canceled due to the continued spread of the COVID-19 virus. The stay-at-home orders over the past few months, like the grounding of a willful teenager, have given us time and clarity to look past our distractions and see the real problems at home. As people fired up their barbecues, I believe this Independence Day found many of us thoughtful about the way we have let ourselves down as a nation. Thoughtful reflection is indeed what we need as we continue to fight the battle for freedom within our own borders. We don’t have an outside threat to rally against: we must look inside ourselves to find both the cause and the solution.
In a country that fought for the right to worship and live freely we must recognize our responsibility to ensure those freedoms for one another. We must not dishonor those who sacrificed their lives for those ideals, nor those who have died because the nation has lost its way. The battle we must fight now will not be won by cannons and rockets but by recognition of the many freedoms denied our own people, and by changing laws, policies and institutions that allow those wrongs to continue.
Instead of shooting at an outside enemy, let us listen to the voices we have shut out, and learn the best way forward. Let us be mindful in our reflections and let our flag be illuminated not by rockets, but by truth and by the passion for justice and equality we want it to reflect. Let us not hide behind ramparts that stop us from creating a country safe for all of our people. Let us be brave in a new way, to ensure that our flag will soon fly over the land of the truly free.
Beautiful, Ellen. Mary