Relax

One of the first things I was told in premarital counseling was "take time to take of you." Imagine my surprise. I thought marriage was all about turning my "me, myself, and I's" into "we, us, and ours." Don't get me wrong, it is definitely about that too, but our counselors wanted to stress the importance of self-care. If you do not take the time to take care of yourself, you are no good for anyone else. So, you need to relax. You need to go to the gym. You need that time in the barbershop or the nail salon. You need that girl's trip. You need that fishing trip. All of your responsibilities will still be there waiting on you. The laundry pile will be waiting, and the to-do list might be a bit a longer. Relax. Take a moment. Breathe. Chill. It's ok. I promise. 

Liberty

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, 

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, 

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Inside of the Statue of Liberty, a sonnet entitled, "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus was engraved on a bronze plaque in 1903. Above is an excerpt from that poem. People traveled from all over the world to come to America's "melting pot." They came here in search of a better life, or simply to escape religious persecution. America was their safe haven. This same country that called for the tired and the poor have turned their back on the tired and the poor.

They have ignored the cries of our current labor force and refused to give them the liberty they desire. They have dispatched task forces to deport mothers from sons. In honor of Labor Day, we should celebrate the true labor force of America. I salute the slaves on whose back this country was built. I salute the illegal immigrants who clean our houses, cook our food, and tend our lawns. I salute the legal immigrants who seize entrepreneurial opportunities that American's won't. I salute those who seek liberty in all of its forms. Happy Labor Day! 

Church & State

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Flashback to your high school Ethics class. Do you remember the discussion about the separation of church and state? America still has "In God We Trust" on their money, the Supreme Court has carvings of the Ten Commandments, and our Presidents are sworn into office with a bible. Some of the Founding Fathers of this country considered themselves Christians. Despite America's root in Christian theology, I would never consider America a "Christian" Nation. This is the same country that put a travel ban on Muslims.

Every day I see images of the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. I see people of all racial backgrounds and religions in shelters. I see people helping people in need. When tragedy strikes, politics don't matter. How you worship, or who you worship doesn't matter. America does not have a political or religious issue. America has a humanity issue. When churches don't open their doors and share the love of God, that's a problem. We are supposed to be "one nation under God," and yet we quarrel over what God. When the levees break, and the creek rises...who cares about the separation of church and state? Both should be working to help their neighbors, parishioners, and constitutents. 

Liberty

I dressed up as Frederick Douglass for a Black History Month celebration at Audubon Montessori Elementary School. I teased my hair and used chalk to create gray streaks all over my hair. I wore a black church suit and a white blouse. I was sharp. I memorized and delivered lines from Douglass' famous speech, "What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July" with passion. I guess you can say I have always been a bit dramatic.

Here I was, this nine year old child in a room full of people who did not look me, spewing out lines about injustice, black oppression, and the hypocrisy of America. Douglass delivered his speech in 1852. This is before the Civil War was fought and won. This was before the Emancipation Proclamation. This was before our so-called "Liberty." Here we are in 2017 and unfortunately his words still ring true. We are slaves to poverty. We are slaves to an unjust legal system. We are slaves to a prison pipeline. We are slaves to capitalism. We are still slaves. 

What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelly to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.

Freedom

Many things have been said about freedom, liberty, and justice for all. Freedom is a word that invokes passion and patriotism. It also incites painful memories for those who journey after this particular pursuit of happiness. Freedom isn't free. It is usually the bottom line cost of wars that politicians finance with our loved one's lives. Memorial Day is about remembering those who died while serving in the armed forces. There are so many people who died without any pomp and circumstance, or a 21 gun salute. Today, I salute all the unknown soldiers who gave their lives fighting for freedom they never experienced. Today, I salute all the slaves who picked up arms in hopes of not being enslaved. Today, I salute all the nameless heroes who sacrificed their lives, so that I might experience the freedoms I take for granted. Today, I salute all the soldiers that value freedom above their own existence. Thank you for sacrifice. Happy Memorial Day!