With tomorrow being July 4th, I thought it would be appropriate to mention a few of my thoughts about freedom. I have always taught my children about how we live in an amazing country. When we study different countries as apart of our homeschool, I explain how so many other people in the world are not able to do most of the things we can do as Americans. But lately, they’ve been asking me more questions as a response to my sharing about some of the social injustices we are encountering in our culture today.
When I told them about the first African American woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court they asked how many women were apart of the SCOTUS. This prompted a discussion on how women’s rights have always come after mens. My spunky 6 – year- old, Ramsey Cate, then responded, “well, mom, why aren’t women doing more stuff like being the president?” Her response got me thinking.
Children are so often blind sided by things going on in our world. They make friends with people of all races on the playground, they don’t question if they have a gay cousin or aunt, they don’t think women should be any less than men because of their gender. If they do have questions they come from a simple place of curiosity, and not a place of hatred or disgust, like so many adults do.
So do we really live in a place of freedom? Do we have certain things always just afforded to us because we live in the “land of the free?” Do we have the rights our founding fathers wanted so desperately for us? My answer to these questions is no. And while I still tell my children we should always be thankful we are Americans and we should honor those who fought for our freedoms, we are still a long way from where we need to be.
This July 4th, I will celebrate. I will celebrate because I’m thankful I live in America, a nation of great determination & great achievement. But this July 4th, I will also mourn. I will mourn how far we still have to go. I will mourn for the rights myself and so many others have lost. I will mourn for the injustices of racism, hatred, and bigotry I still see daily. I will celebrate my heritage but I will also mourn for my children’s future.
The Monarch Mama 