This 4th of July, consider some of the benefits our freedom allows us to enjoy. May we not take for granted what our democracy has provided for us — and, even with its glaring imperfections, may its umbrella continue to include more and more.
Like the joy of peacefully sharing time with multi-generational family:
The beauty and pleasures of our national parks (Zion National Park, 2018):
The comradery of a community-based fireworks show (with no direct cost for admission):
We are able to enjoy such things, simply because we are fortunate enough to live here. And because, in a larger frame, we collectively aspire to believe that goodness is something to share…with our fellow man (John Pavlovitz).
Let's not return to the inevitable barbarism of autocracy and kings and keep working at this experiment, expanding its benefits for all, and for true freedom — the kind that is willing to sacrifice for “liberty and justice for all”.
