June 19, 2021

Juneteenth

When you really think about it, it's remarkable that for years, people would pray and legislate in order to end a cruel tyranny. People divided by oceans, divided by race, divided by nation, came together to abolish slavery. It's even more amazing, considering the disturbingly long history of slavery in the cultures of the world, that they succeeded. Perhaps the prayers had something to do with it.

Nowadays, it's become fashionable to claim that some group of Others - "Republicans", or maybe even "white people in general" - always have and always will hate everyone else. A few bare facts of history ought to put the idea to rest (such as Abraham Lincoln being elected as a Republican president, and choosing to make good on his party's opposition to slavery, despite the risks.) More than that, the multiethnic, multicultural abolition movement, persevering in the face of decades of setbacks on two different continents, shows that people can be united in a good cause. Can we recapture that unity if we focus on the God of love who gives everyone the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

Let's live and let live. Let's be free - to love our neighbors, even while we disagree with them. Let's celebrate this day of freedom, in hope that there will be more and more freedom and unity focused on doing good.