Celebrate Your Truth

by Auntie Cathie
(Chicago USA)

A day for reflection and expression the Fourth of July is an annual summer holiday. Reflection first to realign our goals with our behaviors. The Declaration of Independence asserts: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Notice that this is not an individual creed, but our common assertion. When this holiday starts with reflection on this 1776 document citizens and immigrants alike will deepen their individual commitments to what is held in common and recognize that the well-being of each is dependent on the well-being of all.

The self-evident truth mentioned first is the equality of all. Dissonance is deeply felt between this truth and our life experience. The inequality we experience is profound. This declaration was written because our ancestors experienced profound dissonance and chose to establish a new government based on the consent of the governed. We who have inherited their bold assertion no longer rest on their accomplishments, we must in our generation call ourselves to the level of engagement that will bring our government to center their work on advancing the common good instead of bickering about who can make more money out of this or that legislation.

Without this personal engagement in actively calling our government to act in support of the common good, the rest of our observances are hollow antiques of a declining nation. When we back our call to the government with ordering our own lives to support the common good of the people we encounter in our own families, and our own communities the independence we celebrate in 2013 will have meaning. The red, white and blue decorations on family gatherings proudly express a deeper congruence between our personal lives and those of our com-patriots. Our parades will be more inclusive, and our fireworks more celebratory because we know more deeply who we are as individuals and as a nation.