Our imperfect union must keep changing
In today’s effervescent culture, the symbols around us are being looked at with scrutiny. Many merit a very attentive eye. Our recent Independence Day has me thinking: We should all ask ourselves what our country’s flag means to each of us.
In the beginning, it stood for unity in rebellion against tyranny, and a hope for independence. But in a short order of the annals of time, it became a symbol of a union of states, no longer colonies under foreign domination.
As our country grew, the flag changed with each new state being recognized by its own star.
And then there came the one great test of all that our Founding Fathers set in motion. It was a test of “whether this nation or any nation could long endure.” After four long years of incredible struggle, those who gave the last full measure indeed proved that this nation would stand as one. Oh, yes, there have been myriad new challenges along the way, testing whether “all” in our Declaration of Independence really means all.
Thankfully, over the years, the vehicles for self-governance established by our Constitution allowed us to expand the meaning of “all” to include women, Blacks, Native Americans, LGBTQ and, yes, even those “yearning to breathe free.” We are a compassionate people as attested by our collective commitment to make public space accessible to those of us who are limited by disabilities.
Is this a perfect union? Recent days have demonstrated in a very visceral way, it is not. The abuses of personal freedom and socio-economic suppression are slowly but surely being revealed, uncovering a very dark and sordid past. So, we must look closely at those symbols of oppression, and in the context of the time in which they were created. Some will need to be removed from public view, while others will deserve nothing short of a full, honest and truthful accounting for what they represent.
As difficult as it may be to accept, we must see the taking of a knee at the playing of our National Anthem as a symbolic act of patriotism, exposing social injustice for what it is. In a very real sense, it is nothing short of an exercise of free speech guaranteed by our Bill of Rights.
Even more importantly, when one neighbor seeks to oppress or abuse another, we must come to the aid of the oppressed and state clearly, succinctly and emphatically, the oppression must end.
So we look at the flag of our nation, and it is my hope and my prayer that the Stars and Stripes stands as a lasting symbol of hope for each of us — a hope that in America, dreams can be realized, despite all of our faults and shortcomings. We are a great country, we are stronger together and we can change to make it better. We must change.
JIM SWEARINGEN
Rogers