As I think about the principles of our country today, I find challenge in the bipartisan nature of modern politics…we seem to no longer stand for the principle of liberty for all, but for liberty of those who are like unto us.
Our founders were not of one faith, but many faiths. They fought to create a system whereby the liberty of all took precedence over the needs of few. The contemplation that they presented to the world isn’t about “our way of life” but about creating space for “all ways of life” and finding a social system that while sustaining justice and equity, also creates space for freedom.
In this modern day, where one news story after another is about protecting our way of life, I think we might be missing the point. I think the point is that building community and society isn’t about my way of life, or even our way of life, its about finding a structure that adapts and supports those who are not like us, just as it supports us.
In our school systems, I often hear about parents supporting their school, which is great…but our system of public education isn’t about supporting our own children. Its about supporting all children. When we forget to care for our culture and society to focus on our own needs, we create tyranny, not liberty.
It does not take much to affect history, and those who live to the principles of liberty, dignity and respect sustain great things, no matter what jobs we choose.
Here is a place that changed the face of American history; it served as a refuge of peace in the midst of the riots following the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King….and its a Chili Dog shop…they showed pictures of Hillary Clinton eating there…
“In 1968, the assassination of Dr. King lit a fuse of rage. Riots ensued. Most of the city closed down; Ben’s remained open. Stokely Carmichael of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which was located across the street, obtained special police permission to allow Ben’s to stay open after curfew to provide food and shelter for activists, firefighters and public servants desperately trying to restore order. After the riots, the area was in shambles. Businesses shut down. But there was some glimmer of hope in the neighborhood as the concept of “Black is Beautiful” emerged. Ben’s continued to serve an eclectic crowd of Regulars.”
If a chili dog shop can change the world during dark times by just opening space for refuge and care, what can each of us do in our own worlds?
This July 4, let us pause and think of how we can hold space open for kindness and liberty in our own lives.
Kindness. What an amazingly potent concept. I think our society has largely lost track of kindness as a goal, as a power stronger than just about anything else. It is easy to hate, to fear, to fight, to dismiss, and that seems to be where most of us live our lives most of the time. But we forget that treating one another kindly is also easy–easier than we think it is. Kindness does not require liking another or agreeing or condoning or even understanding, really, beyond the most basic understanding that the other person is a human being, too. Ideologies need not ever come into play. It is solely about one's own actions.
May I remember kindness in my doings in the days to come.
And along with kindness comes harmlessness….and, although that may be considered a "negative" by some, it is the concept that I am trying to live in the days to come….Susan