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This weekend is July 4th, a holiday commemorating the ratification of the Declaration of Independence, establishing the United States of America. This day is often a mix of patriotism, summer fun, and a revolutionary spirit of freedom. But more and more, it's also a complicated day, especially for those who don't get to experience the fullness of the "freedom" we celebrate on July 4th. At least for me, it feels hard to celebrate anything about our country right now. If you've never read it, Frederick Douglass's 1852 essay, "What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?" is a powerful encapsulation of a fact that is still true today: for a lot of people, this country has done more to harm them than it has ever offered them freedom.

That's not to say that we shouldn't be grateful for our country and the way of life we benefit from and all those who have fought and worked to make it so. We can still be patriotic today, but patriotism does not mean blind acceptance and loyalty to our country. True patriotism, as opposed to blind nationalism, is rooted in love and devotion to one's country, but not some amorphous conception of America. True patriotism is love and devotion to the actual people that make up our country, the people that live here and vote here and struggle here. True patriotism means looking all of America's flaws in the face, being honest about the sins of our past and the way they still affect our country in the present. It means loving our home enough to call out all the ways this place is still not the "land of the free" for so many of us. True love of a place includes hope that it can be better. In his 1955 essay collection, Native Sons, James Baldwin wrote, "I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”

The prophets of the Old Testament knew this well. They were constantly calling out Israel for her flaws - most importantly, for her exploitation and oppression of the poor. Amos, one of my favorite prophets, says this to his people:
Listen to this, you who walk all over the weak,
you who treat poor people as less than nothing,
Who say, “When’s my next paycheck coming
so I can go out and live it up?
How long till the weekend
when I can go out and have a good time?”
Who give little and take much,
and never do an honest day’s work.
You exploit the poor, using them—
and then, when they’re used up, you discard them.
(Amos 8:4-6, The Message)

As we approach this holiday weekend, if you don’t feel like celebrating, that’s okay. May we find ways to love and celebrate the real people of America over the abstract concept of a nation. May we speak out against the structures and systems and laws that harm our fellow Americans. And may we work together to create a place that is worth celebrating for everyone who lives here.

-Pastor Julia