*I feel a bit torn this July 4th about hope for the future and hopelessness for the future, so this week’s Resilient Wednesday has two versions. One of hope and one of despair.
You choose your own. I know which one I believe.*
It is a challenging time for America and Americans, but I can’t think of a time when our nation faced difficulties yet always found a way to overcome and grow from them in our effort to form a more perfect nation.
We are a resilient people.
Indeed, the worst period of our history was the Civil War, a battle over slavery where 800,000 people were killed, and we survived.
In my parents’ childhood, the Great Depression and World War II threatened their standard of living and very existence, and we survived.
During my youth, the quest for racial equity and the Vietnam War led to riots in the streets, shootings on campuses, and another 50,000 young men and women sacrificed in a war, and we survived.
Millennials faced the challenges of 9/11 and another war in a foreign land, and we survived.
While it is time for the next generation to step up, it does not mean the rest of us can relinquish our responsibilities.
Speak up, Show up, Act up.
The evidence points to all this working out, and that is what I choose to believe, so I will enjoy hot dogs, beer, ice cream, and fireworks tomorrow and believe in America.
Happy Fourth of July!
© Richard Citrin 2024
