Fourth of July

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Yesterday a friend of mine posted in his blog about how wonderful the Fourth of July is, how the United States is the greatest country in the world, the only place that provides ‘the good life”.

If I had not seen his post about how we should not legalize recreational marijuana, I would ask him what he’s been smoking.  His personal circumstances suggest that he’s not living “the good life”, at least, not in the way his parents did ...

I love my country.  But I realize the United States is far from perfect.  Even before the disaster of 2016, we were falling behind the rest of the civilized world.

Have we lost our ideals?  Or just the energy to turn those ideals into reality?

When I go to a baseball game, and I hear our national anthem, I find myself in tears — tears of pride in all we have accomplished, tears of sorrow at our failures, and tears of fear, as I watch the fabric of our democracy unravel.

When I was admitted to the bar, I stood in a courtroom,raised my right hand, and swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

And I will continue to do so.

But it’s becoming so hard...

Comments

  1. GrazonaJuly 4, 2018 at 9:16 AM

    I haven't read any of your other posts, but this one feels like the start of something quite powerful. I'd love to know more about your last couple of lines. I can only imagine the challenges of someone working in law or government in our current culture.

    ReplyDelete
  2. bookwormJuly 4, 2018 at 10:30 AM

    I agree with Grazona. I think there's a lot you've let unsaid (and, as someone who also leaves things unsaid, I shouldn't ask, but, if professional ethics permit, I'd love to hear some of those stories during the UBC.) Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Gratitude GuruJuly 4, 2018 at 10:42 AM

    I just commented on this elsewhere.

    We do live in a great country (the USA) and we are still young. We have come a long way, and still, we have a long path in front of us.

    At this point in time, I think we are divided due to circumstances and that needs to stop. We are like the wild, angry, relentless, bold, daring, untethered, reckless, and determined teenager. We will grow up as a nation.

    First and foremost, I would like to see Civility rise to the top of the To Do list for us.

    Thanks for letting me get that off my chest :-)

    Happy 4th of July!
    Paul
    <a href="https://DigitalMaestro.com>Digital Maestro</a>

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cerebrations.bizJuly 4, 2018 at 10:57 AM

    So, it's left to us to work hard to make the American Dream real again. To help recover the ideals and goals of our nation- and make them real, not slogans.

    ReplyDelete
  5. peppylady (Dora)July 4, 2018 at 12:11 PM

    I don't think for me personally I would use the term "I love my country" but I want what is best for the American People.
    I wish I had an answer for why we became the "Divided States Of America" and what we need to do as people and once become the "United States of America"
    Coffee is on

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownJuly 4, 2018 at 4:07 PM

    I'm like some of the others that commented, would love to read more on the last few lines during the UBC. Great post

    ReplyDelete
  7. Liz A.July 4, 2018 at 6:44 PM

    I want to believe that right now we're going through a wake up call. So many bad things have simmered under the surface for so long--so many things that we didn't realize were still there. Now they've been brought out into the light so we can look at it. And some people are enjoying that their ugliness is finally recognized (as they don't realize that what they're enjoying is ugly).

    This is the part of the house cleaning where you see what needs to be cleaned. Now our job is to clean it out. Even though there are so many people who are clinging to that ratty old chair. They want to keep the chair, but we know there are better chairs out there.

    And my biggest hope is that after this time, people will never allow such evil things to happen again.

    ReplyDelete
  8. songbird's crazy worldJuly 5, 2018 at 9:36 AM

    I like your attitude, Liz.

    I'm semi-involved in several activist organizations. It's going to be a busy year.

    ReplyDelete

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