Recommended Reading: "We (Still) Hold These Truths"
Today as I celebrate our nations birthday, I am sharing an essay that captures the perfect balance of optimism, patriotism, critique, and perspective about who we are and where we are in this cultural and political moment. David McCune has picked up on the same underlying theme that I have observed in our culture, media, and institutions over the last few years. It’s the idea that our current systems, laws, and norms are inadequate to fight the [current crisis], and that they’re actually rooted in oppression, hate and racism, and as such must be dismantled.
“Build Back Better” presupposed that something must be torn down in order to rebuild. When this platform was being championed in the middle of our pandemic and the 2020 election, I wondered why we were talking about rebuilding something that was already built. Whose planning on tearing it down first? The foundations of our system of government and our constitutional rights are not something to be easily dismissed or ignored, and it’s only because of them that we can even argue about it freely.
We don't need to destroy anything or reject our history in order to fix our problems, we need to remember how incredible our founding principles are and how they have led to more freedom, less discrimination, more tolerance, and more prosperity. For everyone.
Happy Independence Day!
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