Dept. of Lovely Things
Saturday, 4 July 2015 04:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaffy_rOh Beautiful, For Spacious Skies
This country is a mess. We are a mess.
We are a fractious, miserable, small-minded people. We fight with each other, over stupid things. We cheat each other, for shameless reasons. We kill each other, for shameful - unforgivable - reasons.
We despoil our land and air and water, because it's easier to do that than to change our ways.
We eye other nations with suspicion and disdain, even as our power impacts those nations.
We are, inescapably, a mess.
But this country is also wonderful. We, as a people, are also wonderful.
We are wonderful for one simple reason.
We hate being a mess.
We fight ourselves, we battle our worst impulses.
We refuse to let our government screw up without at least trying to hold its collective feet to the fire.
We march in the street to say that black lives do matter.
We insist that anyone who chooses to marry in the eyes of the law have the lawful right to marry.
We fight in the courts so that women have the right to choose their reproductive destinies.
We reach out to each other, despite our fear of difference. We struggle past our fear of hijabs, yarmulkes, crosses, Darwin, you name it.
We look to other nations with curiosity, respect, a desire to help.
We try to clean up after ourselves.
We try to love each other as we love ourselves.
We fail much of the time. We despair.
But we don't give up.
This country may be a mess, but it's one of the most beautiful messes it has ever been my honor to try to clean up.
Happy 239th birthday. We'll try to do right by you.
This country is a mess. We are a mess.
We are a fractious, miserable, small-minded people. We fight with each other, over stupid things. We cheat each other, for shameless reasons. We kill each other, for shameful - unforgivable - reasons.
We despoil our land and air and water, because it's easier to do that than to change our ways.
We eye other nations with suspicion and disdain, even as our power impacts those nations.
We are, inescapably, a mess.
But this country is also wonderful. We, as a people, are also wonderful.
We are wonderful for one simple reason.
We hate being a mess.
We fight ourselves, we battle our worst impulses.
We refuse to let our government screw up without at least trying to hold its collective feet to the fire.
We march in the street to say that black lives do matter.
We insist that anyone who chooses to marry in the eyes of the law have the lawful right to marry.
We fight in the courts so that women have the right to choose their reproductive destinies.
We reach out to each other, despite our fear of difference. We struggle past our fear of hijabs, yarmulkes, crosses, Darwin, you name it.
We look to other nations with curiosity, respect, a desire to help.
We try to clean up after ourselves.
We try to love each other as we love ourselves.
We fail much of the time. We despair.
But we don't give up.
This country may be a mess, but it's one of the most beautiful messes it has ever been my honor to try to clean up.
Happy 239th birthday. We'll try to do right by you.
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Date: Sunday, 5 July 2015 01:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, 5 July 2015 04:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, 5 July 2015 02:48 pm (UTC)*HUGS*
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Date: Sunday, 5 July 2015 03:47 pm (UTC)*hugs back*
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Date: Sunday, 5 July 2015 07:08 pm (UTC)There's a notion in Judaism that G-d chose not to complete creation so that we have an opportunity to participate in finishing it. a little like that
We're painfully aware of the failings, shortcomings, and missed opportunities of the Founding Fathers*, along with their Olympian accomplishments. Well, besides the most enormous experiment in democracy ever ("government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth" was not hyperbole), our inheritance includes the opportunity to further the effort.
*I just read the paragraph about slavery which was edited out of Thomas Jefferson's first draft of the Declaration of Independence.
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Date: Wednesday, 8 July 2015 07:49 pm (UTC)