It's a complicated time to be an American. From wearing masks to views of political parties to ideas for restrictions on police, we are a divided nation. So divided it seems, that when someone says something is purple, you are guaranteed a response of "well, maybe it's not really purple. I mean - you think it's purple but it's really not." Or worse "Let's crucify them and cancel them on social media because they dared to say it was purple!" Bam. Canceled.
It's exhausting. It's defeating. It's depressing.
As we end July 4th weekend, a weekend normally given to barbecues, fireworks, parades, and large gatherings, we have a skyrocketing number of COVID 19 cases, a huge segment of our society that is feeling the effects of inequality not only through virus deaths but through the injustice in law enforcement, and seemingly irreperable divisions between hardline party members of both sides.
People are angry. People are dissatisfied. People are depressed - and it's not just about a virus.
Celebrating a nation's idependence during this time is not easy.
Even before I learned about Juneteenth, I had a complicated relationship with America's "birthday." Living between worlds gives one the unique perspective of seeing through a double lens, of being able to both love and criticize across cultures and cultural values. I have loved some of the freedoms afforded in this country even as I am uncomfortable with the high view given to individualism, often at the high cost of community.
Through the eyes of my non-American friends, I have seen the United States as a place that has given many people and entire families great opportunities. The places I've lived here have been places of diversity of thought and appearance and many of my friends in Kurdistan, Egypt, and Pakistan dream of a ticket to this country. At the same time, through their eyes I've seen many of America's flaws and weaknesses. I've also seen a different America through the eyes of my friends from minority populations in the United States. Through friendship, reading, and film I have seen two countries emerge - the one of opportunity and the one of inequality at best and oppression at worst.
The echoes of "Make America Great Again" ideology are ugly and have allowed racism, ethnocentrism, and nationalism to grow in dangerous ways. Lady Liberty's "Give me your poor" speech feels trampled by fear, poor policy, and hardened hearts.
I have always known that my allegiance is to something far stronger and greater than any nation. My loyalty and world view are defined not by a country, but by a faith. I am called to a higher calling and a far better identity than that which is indicated in my passport. The idea that God's awesome redemptive story is aligned to or limited by a country, a people, or a political party is far from the truth I know and believe.
Believing that a national identity is greater than a spiritual identity is quite simply idolatry.My faith calls me to pray for countries and the leadership of those countries. It is part of every liturgy and even though I sometimes cringe and think "No! I don't want to pray for the United States!" I do it. I do it out of obedience, and when I do I feel a sweet relief, not because things are better, but because I have a clearer picture of God as not ruled or defined by any country or place. I know that leaders ultimately answer to God.
This weekend feels like a time of reckoning and sobriety. A time to pray harder for a nation that has tremendous potential but is part of an imperfect world and functions with an imperfect government. The absence of large gatherings and parades, with fireworks cancelled and travel limited feels appropriate, a reminder that perhaps we need to grow into the greatness we celebrate and the potential we have by challenging injustice, caring for the weak, welcoming the outsider, having empathy for the marginalized and feeding the poor.
"The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped."
Hubert Humphrey- 1977
