My heart feels heavy this July 4th.  Our nation, which I love so dearly, feels at a perilous time in both the faith in and functioning of its democratic institutions.  Reproductive rights and gun legislation are out of step with the majority of American public opinion.  Our Nation’s Capital was attacked based on lies by politicians motivated solely by holding on to power, no matter the cost.  The people of our country are so divided, the promise of a melting pot protected by founding principles of freedom and liberty for all at times rings hollow.  And yet, thousands die in desperate attempts, leaving behind and risking their all, to find sanctuary here with the hope of a better future for their children.

As I work to process all the change that is happening, my mind often hits a point of overwhelm at the realization of how absurd and abstract a society really is.  The pain and suffering that so many experience in the separation of who is privileged and who is oppressed are all based on ideas.  Abstract, arbitrary ideas.  So much of what we are bound and determined by are just concepts that people made up and continue to believe in – money, beauty, citizenship, who are our enemies, and what defines success. At its essence, the basis of every society are values and opinions shaped by those with the cultural entitlements of authority and power.

And yet, these ideas have the most profound impacts.  We live by them and we die for them.  We are provided safety under them and we go to war over them.  It is only through them that we can maintain a functional civilized order that enables institutions to uncover truths, solve problems, and of utmost importance, reflect on itself.  

As I think of the long arc of the moral universe that Martin Luther King, Jr had such faith in bending toward justice, I am heartened by the power of what fair laws and the ideas behind them can actually do.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is such an important example of how critical legislation is for change.  Recently, Title IX had its 50th anniversary.  We still struggle with the implementation of the many rights protected under these laws, such as voting, public education, housing, fair trials, and other forms of freedom, but without the codified law prohibiting discrimination, we would have no foundation for the ongoing pressure needed for justice’s bending.

During the many opportunities I’ve had in driving across these United States I am never at a loss to find beauty.  I am in awe as I contemplate how these canyons, valleys, and mountain ranges dwarf our society in their power and in their longevity.  It seems a bit comical to think that what “We, the People” covet and define as “our America” has not always been and will not always be.  Plate tectonic scientists agree that our planet has manifested at least seven versions of a supercontinent long before us. And our countries and continents will surely unite again in a far distant future.  But here we are for now, a nation defined as this particular region at this particular point in time.  And with this, the color of our skin, our gender identity and sexuality, the religion we practice, the social and economic status of our parents, will all have enormous implications for our well being solely based upon this great intersection of place and time and the ideas and values that manifest there.

I am tremendously grateful for being born a US citizen in this era.  I can vote, I can choose to marry who I please, and I can achieve my educational and professional goals.    I aspire to remember and celebrate all who have fought for justice so that I may have these privileges. Because I take none of this for granted, I am also so keenly aware of the opposite possibility and the fragility of freedom in the hands of authority. We must all share in the responsibility to participate in and uphold our democratic principles and demand accountability to the protection of equality and opportunity for all.

I consider myself a patriot who dearly loves this country:  Sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.  And as with any great love, there are times you must bask in and celebrate its beauty and uniqueness.  But at other times, you must do more than merely sing of it, particularly because you hold it so dear.