Leona Dater

Each time I've attended the traditional 4th of July "Freedom at the Arboretum” with my husband Bill Powell and heard the Declaration of Independence being read by we picnickers, I’ve always been struck by who is mentioned and who is left out as beneficiaries of the rights.

 The wealthy white men who were the signers of the document would have full rights;  their slaves would count for a fraction; missing were Native Americans, other peoples of color, immigrants, and women.  It’s taken centuries to earn voting rights which bring most of the vast majority of our population under the umbrella of coverage.  Still missing today are immigrants, whose citizenship rights still are battled every year in Congress.  

Our rights are not permanent.  Laws get passed to make it difficult or impossible for some groups to obtain/retain voting rights. Cruel selfishness of “my rights” gets pitted against "rights for all."   Freedoms that have been granted to us are an inheritance that each generation must work to retain.  

 Some may think that celebrating Independence Day and flying the flag are sufficient to demonstrate patriotism; we show we believe in this experiment in Democracy and Equal Rights for all. It’s a good beginning, but falls far short of actually protecting our legacy.   We have a choice to make and reconfirm every 4th of July, as expressed by the wise Cherokee brave:

Legend

One evening, an elderly
Cherokee brave told his
grandson about a battle that
goes on inside people.

"My son, there is a battle
between two 'wolves' inside us all.
One is evil. It is anger,
envy, jealousy, sorrow,
regret, greed, arrogance,
self-pity, guilt, resentment,
inferiority, lies, false pride,
superiority, and ego.

“The other is good.
It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity,
humility, kindness, benevolence,
empathy, generosity,
truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about
it for a minute and then asked
his grandfather:

"Which wolf wins?..."

The old Cherokee simply replied,
"The one that you feed." 

As you think about examples or stories of patriotism for the 4th I would like to share this. I do not say (share) this to brag but here is a visual with notes of my family's take on patriotism.  I was raised to believe that a true patriot is someone willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for freedoms they do not have, nor may ever see.

Each of us took an oath and fought wars to defend our country from enemies both foreign and domestic, yet each of us has faced and endured blatant and subtle forms of racism our entire lives.  Each one of us lived with the reality that every white person inherits at birth more freedom, rights, respect and privileges than any one of us. Who is more a patriot, a person who doesn't have freedom but is willing to die so that others might or one who inherits it?

 At the heart of that western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man, the child of God, is the touchstone of value, and all society, all groups, and states, exist for that person's benefit. Therefore the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and the abiding practice of any western society.

The first element of this individual liberty is the freedom of speech; the right to express and communicate ideas, to set oneself apart from the dumb beasts of field and forest; the right to recall governments to their duties and obligations; above all, the right to affirm one's membership and allegiance to the body politic – to society – to the men with whom we share our land, our heritage and our children's future.

Hand in hand with freedom of speech goes the power to be heard – to share in the decisions of government which shape men's lives. Everything that makes man's lives worthwhile – family, work, education, a place to rear one's children and a place to rest one's head – all this depends on the decisions of government; all can be swept away by a government which does not heed the demands of its people, and I mean all of its people. Therefore, the essential humanity of man can be protected and preserved only where the government must answer – not just to the wealthy; not just to those of a particular religion, not just to those of a particular race; but to all of the people.

And even government by the consent of the governed, as in our own Constitution, must be limited in its power to act against its people: so that there may be no interference with the right to worship, but also no interference with the security of the home; no arbitrary imposition of pains or penalties on an ordinary citizen by officials high or low; no restriction on the freedom of men to seek education or to seek work or opportunity of any kind, so that each man may become all that he is capable of becoming.

This is taken from Robert Kennedy’s Day of Affirmation Speech given in Cape Town, South Africa in 1961. Considering the time and location, it was very striking and threatening towards the government then in power in South Africa.   

In recent weeks, both King and Kennedy have oft been quoted. So here we go. It was the reason I wrote my book. 

On the night that Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 - America was a country at war, on its city streets and in the rice paddies of Vietnam. Every day, tensions between white and black Americans triggered violence. Footage of police brutality, war protests on college campuses, and soldiers fighting in Vietnam filled television screens every evening. People on both sides of the political divide were afraid and angry. Instead of giving a campaign speech about why they should vote for him for President, he spoke from his heart and shared his own pain. And he ended with words that resonate still today. 

“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.” 

For more Claire:  http://www.clairerudolfmurphy.com/