A contemplative 4th?


When I heard the cost of a military display for our nation’s Independence Day observance, my first reaction was to write a blistering piece of disagreement. But I’ve changed my mind on that, and on all the other concerns that I have about our nation’s direction. Instead, for this Fourth of July, I’m going to simply suggest discussion topics.

Those who know me completely understand how difficult it is for me not to put in my two cents’ worth.

So, here’s the format. I’m going to give you a famous quote. Then I’ll supply a couple of headlines to serve as holiday discussion starters. The rest is up to you.

Here goes.

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Statue of Liberty

HEADLINES:
Squalid Conditions at Border Detention Centers, Government Report Finds
New York Times
Migrant father and daughter who drowned at US-Mexico border were desperate for a better life
Independent

We 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
Declaration of Independence

Headlines:
Trump’s transgender military ban now in effect
Washington Blade
The imprisonment rate for African American women is twice that of white women
NAACP
The measure of a country is how it treats its prisoners. The U.S. is failing.
Washington Post

"A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
And
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." -- Albert Einstein

Headlines:
In Alaska, climate change is showing increasing signs of disrupting everyday life
Washington Post
Warming seas may increase frequency of extreme storms
NASA
US withdrawal from Paris agreement may affect climate change
CNBC

As promised, no comments from me. Just a final observation from Nelson Mandela:

For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

Happy Birthday, America. May God shed his grace on thee.

Comments

Nancy Flanagan said…
America, America, God mend thine every flaw.
Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.
July 3, 2019 at 5:28 PM
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