I found Frederick Douglass’ speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” to be quite powerful.  It highlights the “great history” of our nation, builds the listener up with potential pride, and then reminds the ears of the many who sit in bondage next to our excess of freedom.  I perhaps lean toward a bit too much cynicism, but it has long been hard for me to swallow the pride in our democracy and love for freedom that the United States perpetuates and preaches to the world. Much of our wealth, as with other countries, was built on the back of slave labor.  The first moment we began clearing land, praying to the high being while in many cases brutally slaughtering Native Americans often in the name of religion, we gave falseness to the dream of creating a land of freedom.  Our atrocities committed both within our border and abroad continue to this day as we spout freedom from our mouths and oppression somewhere else. 

 

Douglass’ section on the role of religion touches upon the power of religion to help motivate humanitarian causes.  He highlighted the religion of many, to play the pious role while sitting back silently as injustices are perpetrated or worse, engaging in the act themselves. We still find this today, as people quote scriptures while condemning people bases on their personal choices in how they live their lives or whom they choose to love.  Religion at its highest level can serve to motivate the worshiper to lead a more conscientious life, aspiring to aid all beings and causing them to not be able to accept the lack or pain that others feel.  Having a spiritual basis to a movement, such as was the case for Dr. King’s nonviolence movement, can offer strength and centering to a cause.  Unfortunately, many of our most vocally devout use scriptures to advocate hate and separatism rather than unity.

I can’t deny the many opportunities this country has afforded me. However, I also cannot remain content to be in awe of the noble dream of our forefathers when I see hypocrisy taking route almost at the inception of the dream of a nation.  I enjoy listening to my father express his political and social views.  He leans to the left and never misses a chance to remind people who this land truly belongs to, if it were actually to truly belong to anyone, as well as what many of the visitors on this land have done and continue to do.  He also served his country during war, proudly and willingly, and then later realized the full story of the conflict he was involved in.  It is not necessarily unpatriotic to question or speak out against your country.  In fact, it is an honor to the ideal of a democratic society.  Unfortunately, even to this day that is often forgotten.

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