Our flag. Our independence. Our celebrations. Our liberty. Our freedom. Our perseverance. Our hard work. Our community. Our justice...
This July 4th I see it a little differently. I like celebrating July 4th, because I believe in all those things outlined all those many years ago. To imagine what it must of felt like to have a Declaration of Independence. To struggle for something you believe in so strongly and to know the rises and the falls of the struggle. I can resonate with some of that from my own passions and involvement in movements. But this was a whole country being born!
I liked celebrating with my friends growing up. It was like every year was a bit more of our own independence journey together, and the fireworks and watermellon and running through the rain were a lot of fun too.
There are so many things to celebrate about this country. But sometimes I struggle with our flag. It is this symbol that for many is all strong. But for me it is also a symbol of all the things I struggle with in America. I often wonder why I appreciate the beauty so much of other flags, but struggle with the one tied to my nationality. I guess by being a citizen, while I get to respect it I also get to be critical. And I celebrate that as a privilege this 4th of July. And I see the privilege of this country casting a great responsibility that we do not always uphold with the virtues of freedom and justice in mind.
However, my perspective on the flag is changing as I see it through the eyes of others. Working with Justice For Our Neighbors, I know our clients see the flag differently. The flag represents a freedom I cannot fully comprehend, it represents opportunity. For children that have grown up here it means home. And in a school yard it flies over all our heads. For new citizens it means something I cannot comprehend, so I should being quoting those in our community that do.
That shadow that casts down from the American flag is grand and wide, and represents how we started and all the parts that make us up. That is our flag with all the different stories that fall under its shadow.
symbols are about how we see them, what they mean, what stories they tell, and how we use them...
thank you to each of you that help me understand this better.
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