Imagine Who We Can Be – We Can Be People Who Have Done Enough
America was founded on the radical idea that all men are created equal! (I want to note that in the musical “Hamilton,” Angelica Schuyler proclaims that “when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’m ‘a compel him to include women in the sequel.”)
On July 4, 1776, those men who signed the Declaration of Independence pledged their “Lives, their Fortunes, and their sacred Honor” to defend that idea of human equality.
Those men and all those who fought in the Revolutionary War did not know whether they would succeed. There were many times when they were discouraged, like during that winter at Valley Forge. But they did not give up!
I recently watched the seven-part documentary by Ken Burns titled “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History.” Much of part-seven is devoted to World War II. In the earliest years of that war, no one was certain that the United States and our allies would be successful. But they did not give up!
Since January 20 of this year, many Americans are terrified and disheartened by the actions of those in the executive, legislative, and the judicial branches of our government, especially the Supreme Court. Judge J. Michael Luttig, an outspoken critic of the president, has even stated that we lost our Republic on January 20. I encourage you to watch his interview and read his article titled “The Self-Evident Truths of Freedom – and of Tyranny.”
I invite us all not to give up on our democracy, as imperiled as it is at this time. I invite us to embrace the perspective of all those in our history who did not give up. I invite each of us to find actions we can take to encourage others and especially ourselves to not give up.
Last month I ended my post with the final words from the play “Good Night and Good Luck” where George Clooney as Edward R. Morrow asks, “What are you prepared to do?”
This month I close with some of the final words in “Hamilton” spoken by Eliza Hamilton as she reflects on her life (she lived fifty years longer than her husband and fought for the causes he had believed in).
“And when my time is up,
Have I done enough?”
How will we each answer that same question?
