“I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”
It’s been more than a few years since I’ve stood next to a desk with my right hand over my heart and recited the pledge, but it’s engrained so deeply, I can type it from memory some 30+ years later.
With liberty and justice for all.
Yes, we’ve failed in it. Fell short of it even back when we were writing “all men are created equal”.
But the promise. The promise of it sure is beautiful.
*If you want to keep the star spangled, purple mountain majesty vibes you should stop reading.*
I’m currently reading a book, Monsters by Claire Dederer. In it, she talks about art, and the flawed people who create it. As a critic, she wants to know the calculus of whether and how we can separate the good of what was created from the stain left by a deeply flawed artist. As we celebrate the birth of our nation, amidst Supreme Court decisions that have me in my feelings, I’m wondering the same thing about the US.
We are a country founded by men who owned men, who didn’t even consider women, who murdered and oppressed nations of people who lived and died here long before our country existed. How do we separate the good, the promise, from the stain left by these men? Can we?
I have no answers. I have a lot of doubts.
Happy 4th!
I can’t celebrate anything. Even when someone says Happy 4th on my blog, I don’t know how to respond (because anxiety).
I can’t believe I live in a country that doesn’t value me. That is disrespectful to my daughter and her friends. That violates a lot of my friends.
Is this the bad place?
I highly recommend reading Monsters by Claire Dederer. It’s helping me untangle a lot of my feelings about the place we are, but also how I was (and am) complicit.
I get not knowing how to respond. It’s complicated.
Also, I value you.
I am with you and Kari. I have been wrestling with your essential question for awhile. I feel we will never get to a better place until we can stop mythologizing those men and mythologizing us. Until a majority of us can get sophisticated enough in our thinking to accept that two (or more) contradictory things can both be true. I don’t have much faith in that happening. I’ve become fairly cynical. As always, I appreciate not being alone in and with my views.
I appreciate you being here and sharing your thoughts with me, Rita. I don’t know if we can EVER get past the mythologizing – I think that’s part of the human condition, but I am hopeful we can change some of the themes we build our stories around. Maybe we can’t do that yet (and maybe I’m being naive) but I see glimmers.
Yes, I agree about our need to have and tell myths. I am curious: What glimmers do you see? (I’m in a literal place in which I can’t see any, and I’d love to be able to. I really would.)
These are not sunshine on water glimmers as much as moonlight behind clouds; I’m not a Pollyanna. I know the 2016 election and the consequences of the Kavanaugh and ACB appointment are real.
But I’ll take my glimmers where I can find them. I see a group of people who are 2-4 years away from voting and the voting breakdowns of the past few elections. I’m see what should have been a red wave (especially in a horribly gerrymandered Wisconsin) that was purple. I’ve see people who have been red their whole life pulling levers for a blue candidate (and will again depending on who ends up on the ticket) because certain things just will not stand.
But my BIGGEST glimmers, have to do with people having conversations about generational trauma and the failings of capitalism/patriarchy.
Thank you! I needed your glimmers. Part of my challenge this summer is living in a deeply red state. Too much to say here on that, so I’ll just leave it at thank you.
Katie, I hear you and am right there with you. The more I learn about American history, the more shocked and confused I become. And the last few weeks (months? years? almost decade?) have left me reeling and ridden with anxiety. I’m not feeling particularly hopeful and am definitely NOT looking forward to this next election season. Thanks for writing this and reminding me that I’m not alone!
And I’ve heard wonderful things about Monsters. I’m adding it to my TBR! thank you!
The last almost decade has felt a little bit like culture shock. I know certainly got whopped upside the head with a real wake up call. So you are definitely not alone.
I’m nervous about this next election cycle as well and hopeful and (already) disappointed in equal measure.
Looking forward to hearing what you think about Monsters. It’s certainly not a book that gives much in the way of answers, but I also appreciated that about it.
There were a couple mistakes in your pledge of allegiance.
‘…..and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’
There is no comma between one nation and under God. It is often recited as if there was, but that’s not the case. You also left out indivisible. Hope you had a great Independence Day.
Good call. I guess I can’t recite it from memory after all!! ◡̈