Tag: freedom

Land of Free or Land of Fear?

Why do so many people in America have fear riding shotgun in their jeans front pocket? Perhaps they cannot reflect upon President Harry S. Truman’s understanding: “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” But what exactly is our job at hand?

Let’s start with upholding The Declaration of Independence: “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.”

This Declaration was written in 1776 and signed on July 4th by John Hancock (President, Continental Congress) and Scots-Irish Charles Thomson (Secretary, Continental Congress) who was born in County Londonderry, Ireland. Most of the 56 signings appeared August 2nd with the final signing on November 4th.

It’s fascinating that an immigrant, Charles Thomson, was so instrumental in our country’s founding document. Who knows his story? His father set sail for America with his 5 children when his wife died in 1739. Charles was 9-years-old.

This Scots father died at sea, losing his possessions. The orphaned children were separated upon landing on American soil. Charles, initially taken in by a blacksmith, became a tutor in Latin at Philadelphia Academy (a predecessor of the University of Pennsylvania).

Charles exemplifies determination. He prepared the Journals of the Continental Congress, co-designed the Great Seal of the U.S. and was responsible for adding Latin mottos to the Seal’s reverse side – Annuit coeptis (“Providence favors our undertakings”) and Novus ordo seclorum (“New order of the ages”). Both refer to lines by Roman poet Virgil. Then after nearly 2 decades of work, Charles Thomson’s translation of the Bible’s Old Testament was published in 1808.

As the U. S. marks its 250th anniversary, we celebrate the 6-30-26 Supreme Court decision to strike down an executive order to end birthright citizenship. The Court (6-3) upheld the Constitution’s 14th Amendment delivering citizenship to (almost) everyone born on U.S. soil.

As the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute notes, our 250th celebration is “…about people, places, and stories—millions of them…[it] can be a unifying moment—not because everyone sees the past the same way, but because anniversaries help bring people together. They offer a shared starting point…this milestone is a chance for all Americans to learn more about the country and each other.”

Oh, at least 8 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence where immigrants, born in England or Scotland, along with Alexander Hamilton who was born in British West Indies. Robert Morris, born in England, nearly bankrupted his assets to fund the Revolutionary War. Morris supplied Washington’s troops when the Continental Congress was unable to do so.

Courageous, imaginative, and unbeatable determined immigrants are a backbone of our country.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

512. What history have you learned about America’s founding?

513. What stories will you pass on about the 250th year of the U.S.?  

It Takes a Grandmother

I am fond of my book title for my first book, It Takes a Child to Raise a Parent. I receive affirmative grins and head shakes when I share this title with others. You likely helped to raise your parents in certain ways, but also have learned a thing or two from kids, either from your own or other’s children. Sometimes though, it takes a grandparent to raise consciousness about something important.

Juneteenth has been celebrated among African American families for 150+ years, yet many Americans are unaware of this aspect of our U.S. history. The history of people of color has not been covered as extensively in school textbooks as the history of Pilgrims claiming “freedom” on American soil.  

Some Americans only heard of Juneteenth when President Biden named June 19th as Juneteenth National Independence Day in 2021. While the Senate unanimously approved a bill to set aside a national day of commemoration, sadly there was opposition from 14 members of the House of Representatives. We might guess the color of their ancestors’ skin.

While President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery on January 1, 1863, folks living in Texas did not receive this news. It was not until 2 ½ years later on June 19, 1865, that General Gordon Granger went to Galveston, Texas, to deliver the freedom tidings. Such a deliverance was not recognized by many. African Americans were wary of their actual freedom. As Harriet Tubman expressed, “I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.”  

It took the grit of a grandmother, Opal Lee, to rouse the rest of the country into awareness of this vital piece of our shared history. Lee grew up in Texas, but freedom of African American residents was far from accepted practice there. When her family lived in Fort Worth in a mostly white neighborhood, as a child she survived her home being burned to the ground by white individuals on June 19, 1939.

As a retired educator, Lee worked tirelessly to gather the signatures needed to appoint the national holiday for Juneteenth. As a spry 89-year-old, Lee embarked on 2 ½-mile walks from Fort Worth to the U.S. Capitol. She was 96 years young when she finally witnessed the signing of the historic Bill creating Juneteenth as a national holiday.

Perhaps some of us have forgotten (or never knew) the little song that I learned in Sunday School: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children in the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight….” For those who were not raised in this Sunday School tradition, go to any flower garden. Only some plants are white; most are colorful.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz 

301. What cause could interest you in walking across the country to gather support?  

302.  How can you foster “freedom” in your community?