The meaning of July fourth
Our hopes for the holiday, and Frederick Douglass’ call to action from 1852
We’d like to wish you all a happy Fourth, though with that we acknowledge the troubled times we live in, and understand that proceeding directly to the barbecue and fireworks might feel a little fraught this year given how daunting the patriotic struggle seems, acutely so after the past couple of weeks.
We think you might find it helpful to look back with us on what the great abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass had to say on the occasion, back in 1852. He wrote and delivered these words in even more difficult times, but they ring true.
Moving forward, Douglass knew, meant recognizing and taking seriously the promise of the past, however incomplete our current understanding, however inadequate or twisted latter-day interpretations of the words of the founders might be.
The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too, great enough to give frame to a great age. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor their memory.
The right way to honor that memory, for Douglass, would be to take those principles to heart and to commit to doing the work of remedying the myriad ways in which they have not been lived up to. And to do so with the understanding that America is and always has been an unfinished project.
The nation, ultimately, is always ours — not “theirs” or anyone’s in particular, no matter who tries to make that exclusive claim. And those who realize that truth need to speak loudly and directly against such claims.
At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. O! had I the ability, and could reach the nation's ear, I would, to-day, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.
Always keep in mind that it isn’t and was never hopeless, not now, and not in 1852. These times aren’t the only times; this place is not the only place, but it is when and what we have to work with.
I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. While drawing encouragement from "the Declaration of Independence," the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age. Nations do not now stand in the same relation to each other that they did ages ago. No nation can now shut itself up from the surrounding world and trot round in the same old path of its fathers without interference. The time was when such could be done. Long established customs of hurtful character could formerly fence themselves in, and do their evil work with social impunity. Knowledge was then confined and enjoyed by the privileged few, and the multitude walked on in mental darkness. But a change has now come over the affairs of mankind. Walled cities and empires have become unfashionable. The arm of commerce has borne away the gates of the strong city. Intelligence is penetrating the darkest corners of the globe. It makes its pathway over and under the sea, as well as on the earth. Wind, steam, and lightning are its chartered agents. Oceans no longer divide, but link nations together. From Boston to London is now a holiday excursion. Space is comparatively annihilated. -- Thoughts expressed on one side of the Atlantic are distinctly heard on the other.
The whole address is worth revisiting every year, no matter the tenor of the times. Or listen to it read by Douglass’ descendants in the video linked below.
And have hope.
A request for those who haven’t yet joined us: The interviews and essays that we share here take research and editing and much more. We work hard, and we are eager to bring on more writers, more voices. But we need your help to keep this going. Join us today to support the kind of independent media you want to exist.
And today and through the holiday weekend we’re offering new paid subscribers a special discount of 20 percent. You will lock in this lower price forever if you join us now!
Reminded me of Havel and Hope. From the Aspen Inst., "Havel distinguishes hope from optimism—the confidence that things will turn out well. Rather, hope depends not upon the outcome of circumstances, but the goodness of the cause, despite the consequences. And if this is true, then perhaps hope is present all along. Hope Havel says, is “an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed."
I hope for democracy to succeed this fall and help reverse global trends. I hope UK elections bring greater hope. I work to adjust my thinking, that my campaign work reflects the work for something good, because it is just. Even in my red state, I am hopeful :).