No Fireworks, but Still Love

When we speak of lovers, we often use phrases like "I love her, but I'm not in love with her", or "There just aren't any fireworks anymore," or the Facebook standard, "It's complicated". Nothing could be more accurate about how I feel today on our Independence Day.

It's Complicated.

I love the dream of our country. A dream that never included me, or many I love. That is a fact. It is okay to love this country and acknowledge its imperfect history. 

It is wrong to take an attitude of "love it or leave it". That wasn't even the belief of our founders. They created a living document, not one that they expected to be engraved in stone, and never changed. The means to change were written at the start because they themselves had distrust of the process, each other, and even this dream we call a country.

I Still Believe in the Dream

I still believe in the dream. Country building is hard. It is also messy. We are the longest living democratic-styled institution in history. Yet, in the scale of things, we are quite young.

Safety vs. Liberty, Freedom vs. Equality, and Power vs. the People have been the struggles of mankind. The fact that we are facing them now is scary and even disheartening. In my mind, however, they are not a reason to abandon the dream. 

I love my country, not its leadership. I love the faith that a ragtag group of men, yes, men (very imperfect men, even), took to paper. Their words rose above their humanity, as words can, but too often fail. And where they did fail so miserably, as in the 3/5th Compromise, higher angels stepped in and voiced allowances for change.

The Dream Is Not Dead

It feels heavy, and it feels dark. These days have been, and they will come again. They only succeed if we allow the darkness to win. I won't be setting off fireworks this year, but that doesn't mean my heart isn't filled with love. And love always turns to light. In honor of that, I shall hold a sparkler for the dream. If you would like to join me, there is always space in my circle. 

If there is to be a better America, then there has to be more light. This is true of anything. Come grab a sparkler. I shall keep one burning for you.