A revolution worth finishing
Independence gave us the freedom to govern ourselves. The future depends on whether we pursue power for ourselves—or use it in service of our neighbors.
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
This quote from Jimi Hendrix was recently brought back to public attention by two people who climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and unfurled a flag emblazoned with those words. There are other posts and articles on the internet discussing what they might mean in today's world.
But this post is for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. On that hot, probably humid, definitely uncomfortable day in Philadelphia, delegates representing the thirteen American colonies put love of self-determination over fear of execution for treason. Their motives were not altogether pure, and their plans for future governance were not altogether virtuous. Our country was born in the blood of the Revolutionary War, and has continued to fight in military conflicts for the majority of its existence. We have also been fighting amongst ourselves for all of our existence over who can be an American, how to live in America, what values America champions, and which future America should strive towards.
How can a country that has experienced precious little peace, solidarity, and brotherly love possibly know how to practice those things? Love of power has been the driving force behind narrowing who could be considered truly American, restricting how people could live in America, perverting or abandoning the values America claimed to champion, and choking out the future so many Americans dreamed of achieving. This corrupted both governing officials who craved ever more political power, and private sector citizens who desired and hoarded the power of wealth and superiority.
And yet our country was not only born into bloody conflict. It was, as Abraham Lincoln said, "conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Americans have never completely forgotten this core identity and guiding principle. Over time, we expanded our concept of "liberty", the category of "men", and the definition of "equal". Through fighting -- yes. In the field, the street, the courtroom, the town hall, the dinner table, and the comment section. We fought each other tooth and nail over chattel slavery, westward expansion, Native American relations, Jim Crow laws, children's education, workers' rights, women's suffrage, environmental conservation, taxation, regulation, and hundreds of other issues. But the point of every fight was, and should be, to reach a conclusion that brings about more peace for more people. Every fight ought to be about making things better not just for ourselves, but for our fellow man and for our shared posterity. Every fight should be because we love something good, and we want it to be made real. Let the power of love overcome the love of power, so that our families, communities, our country, and our world can know peace.
On this 250th celebration of Independence Day, please enjoy listening to the guitar legend himself perform a god-tier rendition of our national anthem.
Happy Fourth of July from all of us at Unorthodoxing!
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