As we approach this Fourth of July, I am thinking about those tattered and threadbare flags that led to an empty flagpole. I am thinking of the reasons my grandfather, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, flew the flag with both humility and honor. I am thinking about what the flag represents, the ideals of liberty and justice for all, the idea of our common equality bestowed upon us not by our society but by our Creator. Those ideals have at times in our history become threadbare, putting us in the position of raising flags that no longer carry any meaning at all.
Around Memorial Day this year, another holiday with flags raised high, many Americans learned about the 100-year-old Tulsa Race Massacre, when an entire Black community was terrorized and destroyed. Many of us also reflected on the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and demonstrations that rippled across cities and towns last summer. The injustices of a century before lined up with the injustices of the recent past. Both stood as haunting representatives of so many other moments in American history that do not accord with the values our founding documents espouse…(keep reading)
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To learn more about how our flag symbolizes the beauty of American ideals and the brokenness of our history and the hope of holy repair, keep reading my article over at Christianity Today: Independence Day Calls Us to the Holy Work of Repair
Learn more with Amy Julia:
- Social Justice Work Requires Spiritual Practices
- AJB Recommends: Resources About Critical Race Theory
- Compassionate Anti-Racism
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