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We write this ahead of the Fourth of July holiday -- our Independence Day, to quote both our founding fathers and also Bill Pullman.
Wry humor aside, Independence Day is many things to many people. It can be a party with family and friends, a somber moment of reflection, or just an opportunity to see borderline military-grade pyrotechnics.
We would suggest that it can be all three.
This year, more than most, Americans are divided and scared. We still haven't recovered, emotionally if nothing else, from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the fabric of our society.
Some among us fear for our rights being eroded, while others fear the loss of our shared, moral culture -- of what makes us American.
Some raise concerns over our democracy and the accountability of those who exist within it, while others crave safety and security in a world which seems poised to slip into the madness of war and terrorism once again.
And against all of it is the backdrop of a presidential race which we think most -- on either side -- would agree is farcical. Even as recently as ten or twenty years ago, either of 2024's candidates would have been laughed away from the podium -- perhaps ducking a shoe along the way.
But politics, like us, has changed.
Our fears are reflected, writ large and mirror-like, in the attitudes of our politicians.
Until we heal and find our own peace within our communities, it seems unreasonable to expect any better from our elected officials.
Let the Fourth of July be a start to that.
Haul out the grill and cook up some delicious food -- not just for yourself, but for your neighbor, too.
Look to the skies and see the same vibrant explosions of red, white and blue that everyone else in your town can -- a unity of experience, if not creed.
And remember that despite what some would have you believe, we are more alike than we are different.
In the words of Lawrence O'Donnell, "There are people out there who disagree with me politically, and understand the limits of that disagreement. It doesn't mean we disagree as people on basic human needs."