Happy Fourth
When I discuss politics in this journal, most of my posts turn out to be, for lack of a more diplomatic term, bitching. I fully admit this. There are things that are wrong with this country that desperately need to be fixed. Ineffective and incompetent leadership, income inequality, corporate power, abuse of the environment, an often appallingly uninformed electorate, we all know the drill. I'll continue to talk about these things and I'll continue to try to do my own little part in trying to make things better.
I'll do all this . . . tomorrow. Because along with barbecues and fireworks and remembering that fateful eighteenth century summer that would forever change the face of the world, I believe that the Fourth of July is also a good time to pause and reflect for a moment on the positive. We have it pretty good here in America. The Declaration of Independence was never about creating a perfect society that would run on auto-pilot. It was always an experiment. It was always going to take the informed participation of each generation to continue to make it work.
A decade after that fateful summer of '76, there would be another memorable summer, a long sweltering contentious summer where a dedicated group of people, for all their human flaws, would gather to hammer out the foundation on which we would build a new country. At the end, when asked what had come of it all, whether we had ended up with a Republic or a Monarchy, one of those men would reply, "A Republic . . . if you can keep it." And a future first lady would prophetically remind her husband to "not forget the ladies".
For over two hundred years, that work has continued. It continued in the bitter struggle to end slavery. It continued in the courageous battles waged by organized labor, the women's suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, and countless others who fought and bled and sometimes died to advance the cause of human freedom, to make sure that America lived up to the true meaning of its creed. It is work that continues today and that will never be "finished". But we've been given a chance and it's important to remember that many generations in human history were not even given that much.
In keeping with the spirit of the day, we can check in with Jefferson and Franklin and all the rest, courtesy of cahwyguy and a little creative license. And the night sky will be giving us a nice show throughout the evening, featuring Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and the full moon. The forecast here in Oregon is for clear skies and perfect weather tonight, which is a nice treat. One of the few drawbacks I've found to living in the Pacific northwest is that so many astronomical events have an excellent chance of being ruined by our oh-so-frequent cloud cover.
Yes, all things considered, we have it pretty good indeed. Happy Fourth of July everyone!
I'll do all this . . . tomorrow. Because along with barbecues and fireworks and remembering that fateful eighteenth century summer that would forever change the face of the world, I believe that the Fourth of July is also a good time to pause and reflect for a moment on the positive. We have it pretty good here in America. The Declaration of Independence was never about creating a perfect society that would run on auto-pilot. It was always an experiment. It was always going to take the informed participation of each generation to continue to make it work.
A decade after that fateful summer of '76, there would be another memorable summer, a long sweltering contentious summer where a dedicated group of people, for all their human flaws, would gather to hammer out the foundation on which we would build a new country. At the end, when asked what had come of it all, whether we had ended up with a Republic or a Monarchy, one of those men would reply, "A Republic . . . if you can keep it." And a future first lady would prophetically remind her husband to "not forget the ladies".
For over two hundred years, that work has continued. It continued in the bitter struggle to end slavery. It continued in the courageous battles waged by organized labor, the women's suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, and countless others who fought and bled and sometimes died to advance the cause of human freedom, to make sure that America lived up to the true meaning of its creed. It is work that continues today and that will never be "finished". But we've been given a chance and it's important to remember that many generations in human history were not even given that much.
In keeping with the spirit of the day, we can check in with Jefferson and Franklin and all the rest, courtesy of cahwyguy and a little creative license. And the night sky will be giving us a nice show throughout the evening, featuring Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and the full moon. The forecast here in Oregon is for clear skies and perfect weather tonight, which is a nice treat. One of the few drawbacks I've found to living in the Pacific northwest is that so many astronomical events have an excellent chance of being ruined by our oh-so-frequent cloud cover.
Yes, all things considered, we have it pretty good indeed. Happy Fourth of July everyone!