I took my family out to see the new documentary about Mr Rogers, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" It's a lovely film. I think I cried the whole way through it. There was something good about watching it in a theater and sensing other people getting choked up as well. My eyes hurt for hours afterward, and I found it very hard to sleep that night because there was so much going through my mind and pulling at my heart.
Mr Rogers was genuinely kind in a way that is far too rare in this world. We may never see another like him. There are many people I love and admire and that I have felt lucky to learn from, but Mr Rogers managed to distill the core of what humanity should be centered around more simply than anyone: That we are able to love and be loved.
My own space apart from the babble of the internet
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Monday, July 16, 2018
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
The Promise of America
Like many I know, I have mixed feelings anymore about the 4th of July.
That's been true for me since I first visited the Statue of Liberty as a child and watched a short film in the welcome center. The film featured famous people talking about what the Statue of Liberty meant to them, and it included James Baldwin whose statement is the only one that stayed with me. He quoted the beginning of the Declaration of Independence and said it was problematic since he hadn't been included in those ideals. He highlighted that for black people whose families were brought here by force to work as slave labor for others who claimed to believe "all men are created equal" the Statue of Liberty represented only a cruel irony.
It was the first time I truly recognized that symbols of our country flouted as patriotism were painful for many Americans. It broke my heart that people with as much right to the ideals of America did not feel a part of that dream. I had a child's love for my country that was uncomplicated. I had to rethink it.
Our country's history encompasses many dreadful and shameful things. Too much of that was whitewashed in school when I was young. There is less of that in my children's education, so they understand better than I did at their ages that there is much about American history that is disturbing and unpleasant.
I asked them this morning on our way to the annual parade how they feel about the 4th of July. My oldest said she wasn't sure how to feel. She sees so much happening in our country anymore that is hard to take pride in, that she'd rather think of the holiday as more a celebration of our neighborhood traditions. My middle child was conflicted because she doesn't want her disgust for the current president to contaminate her ability to enjoy the day. My youngest doesn't know. It's hard for him to see the 4th as something other than a candy holiday (and asked why anyone would bother to go to a parade that didn't involve throwing treats into the crowd).
Here's what I told them: America is a promise.
That's been true for me since I first visited the Statue of Liberty as a child and watched a short film in the welcome center. The film featured famous people talking about what the Statue of Liberty meant to them, and it included James Baldwin whose statement is the only one that stayed with me. He quoted the beginning of the Declaration of Independence and said it was problematic since he hadn't been included in those ideals. He highlighted that for black people whose families were brought here by force to work as slave labor for others who claimed to believe "all men are created equal" the Statue of Liberty represented only a cruel irony.
It was the first time I truly recognized that symbols of our country flouted as patriotism were painful for many Americans. It broke my heart that people with as much right to the ideals of America did not feel a part of that dream. I had a child's love for my country that was uncomplicated. I had to rethink it.
Our country's history encompasses many dreadful and shameful things. Too much of that was whitewashed in school when I was young. There is less of that in my children's education, so they understand better than I did at their ages that there is much about American history that is disturbing and unpleasant.
I asked them this morning on our way to the annual parade how they feel about the 4th of July. My oldest said she wasn't sure how to feel. She sees so much happening in our country anymore that is hard to take pride in, that she'd rather think of the holiday as more a celebration of our neighborhood traditions. My middle child was conflicted because she doesn't want her disgust for the current president to contaminate her ability to enjoy the day. My youngest doesn't know. It's hard for him to see the 4th as something other than a candy holiday (and asked why anyone would bother to go to a parade that didn't involve throwing treats into the crowd).
Here's what I told them: America is a promise.