THE 4TH, FLAGS, AND FEELINGS

While I was walking to see the sunrise earlier this week, one of the city employees stopped by in his utility truck to chat for a minute. I have enjoyed building friendships with these dedicated people who maintain our city parks and are so gracious to me on my daily walks. He told me that he had been working since 4:00 that morning, organizing the July 4th celebration to be held at Bridge Park. I thanked him for everything that the staff has done to keep the place so nice for us.

Our streets and park are now decorated with many US flags for the 250th birthday celebration. When I entered the park that morning, I noticed that a few of the fan flags were looped over or tucked behind the fence railing after some recent winds. My feelings about the flags have not been positive ones; I haven’t felt proud, or celebratory, or grateful for our country’s leadership in these trying times. But I decided to straighten them, not out of a sense of reverence, but because I wanted to return a kindness for my friends, the city workers.

As I pulled the flags back through to the front and tidied the edges, a new feeling suddenly came over me: Tenderness. I then began to gently pat them, as if to comfort and console them. It was as if I wanted to convey how much I love all that they represent, how I am grieving for them, and how many of us are working to restore their dignity.

I do love my country.

I love the people in my neighborhood… the city park staff, the friendly neighbors, the kind strangers, the other quiet walkers. I love the beauty of the land and seas… the farm fields like the one my grandfather tended, the forested hills that shelter Jim and me as we hike, the oceans and lakes where treasured family memories remain, the natural wonders that awe and inspire. I love the diversity of people and cultures–and the ones who embrace them all. I love the helpers… the teachers, the medical personnel, the social workers, the civil justice leaders, the caring volunteers, the generous donors. I love the ones who remain steadfast to the important foundations on which this country is based, who protest against the principles that are not.

I love the voices that still resound through the majority of America–the voices of unity, of compassion, of hospitality, of justice–even as other voices seem louder. I love my weekly gatherings with people who foster climate and creation care. I love that most of us still stand for democracy, the Constitution, welcoming the immigrant, caring for one another, and the human rights of everyone. I love the hope that comes from understanding how our country is relatively young; we are still learning–and perhaps in this time we are learning the greatest lesson of all.

This holiday weekend, I am looking upon the flags with care and compassion, and with a renewed determination to restore all that they represent–the principles of liberty, equality, justice, and freedom that our country is meant to uphold.