I cannot celebrate the 4th of July this year. Instead, I offer up a portion of a speech given by Frederick Douglas 173 years ago. While he was addressing the evils of slavery, let there be no doubt that what was being addressed here was that one class of men had power to dominate and control another.
"What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity are to him mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour."
173 years later, people are being snatched off the streets by masked men and taken away to undisclosed locations. They are being backed up by military force called in by our own government.
There are people who have built a tent city in the middle of an alligator infested swamp. They plan to fill this with people, children included. Laura Loomer, one of the president's advisors gloated, "The good news is the alligators are guaranteed 65 million meals if we get started now."
Think of it.
Desperate people in the middle of a swamp. Insects. Tents that leak and flood (and have already done so after only two days). Parents. Children. Families. Old people. Very young people. The inhumanity of it is bad enough, but to be joking about it is pathologically lacking in empathy.
Yet, here we are.
So, I quote Frederick Douglas once again. "There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour."
I can't even think about celebrating this year. I don't recognize this country anymore and I'm so ashamed that our fellow citizens have voted for and continue to support the atrocities.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I have said it from the beginning. MAGA will only blink when these things begin to negatively impact them. It is about to happen. This Big Beautiful Bill will impact them and theirs very negatively. They will feel the pain. It is necessary for change and growth. Unfortunately, there are so many innocent victims to this.
DeleteUnfortunately, they won't feel the pain until after mid-terms, when the bill kicks in. They did that on purpose so the Democrats would lose the talking point.
DeleteNot much celebrating here either. We just returned from a trip to Canada where we were very welcomed. We apologized for our country and made sure they knew we don't support any of his nonsense. Everyone we met recognized who is the problem in the current administration. I think they felt sorry for us.
ReplyDeleteWe all feel sorry that you're having to go through this horror.
ReplyDeleteI made a sign for the no Kings protest that included a US flag, except it was in rainbow colored stripes and rainbow stars. I've hung it upside down to my front porch railing. I had mistakenly thought that by joining protests I might inspire someone who didn't vote to actually vote next election. Magats I figured are a lost cause. Turns out, according to the Pew study, if more people had voted, the felon would have won by an even bigger margin. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans voted overwhelmingly for tRump. I now only bother supporting the GLBTQ+ community, Native Americans, and migrant/illegal immigrants. We are in crisis.
ReplyDeleteDebby, a big thanks for sharing this. I have shared it forward via email. Here's the thing on my mind as I was sending it - there are so few people in my life that share my view. The "to" email list is painfully short. So many kind and generous people, some I have loved my entire life - and yet they voted and continue to support this horror. I will never ever understand that. But, as you say above to Jennifer, they will most likely be innocent victims and feel the pain. I dread that also, if that makes sense, because they are important to me.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for what you Americans are going through, it is just crazy times. I guess some people will have to suffer greatly before they get it. I don’t think you will ever be able to vote again but I hope I am wrong. We seem to get more honest news up here in Canada. Keep your elbows up. Gigi
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Agreed!
ReplyDeleteAllie and I are not celebrating. In fact, I am watching murder mysteries because they always get the bad guys in the end. My heart is torn asunder in 2025.
Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAs well as that, you only have to go back to the original declaration of independence to see how wrong they are now
I agree. I think we're definitely under a police state. Never heard of sending Marines to help an unofficial ICE do their evil deeds. I feel sorry for the military folks who joined, never realizing they'd be used for evil. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI'm not celebrating either, how can I? Evil has taken over our land and I can't fix it.
ReplyDeleteEvil is afoot in this country. $40B for ICE tells us that something terrible is on his mind. SCOTUS just told him he can deport those people who have been in the shipping container for weeks to South Sudan. They'll die there. How in the heck did we get here?
ReplyDeleteThose are powerful words.
ReplyDeleteThose who ignore the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat it.