Deep Breaths Whose Independence? Today, America celebrates independence with parades and fireworks, proclaiming freedom from tyranny. But we must ask open and honest hearts: freedom for whom? How can a nation celebrate liberty while enacting policies that deny life and dignity to so many? Even now, Congress has approved a budget that cuts Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, and WIC—lifelines for children, elders, disabled neighbors, and working families. These are not just numbers on a ledger; these are human lives. Reducing them is not responsible budgeting; it is government-sponsored cruelty. At the same time, the Supreme Court makes decisions that erode birthright citizenship and redefine who is considered “one of us.” These actions are not accidental—they are part of a calculated plan to return to a time when only wealthy, straight, cisgender white men had full rights. How dare we celebrate independence while writing oppression into our laws? The prophet Zechariah calls us out: “Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the migrant*, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. (Zechariah 7:9-10 NRSVUE) Proverbs warns: “If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard.” (Proverb 21:13 NRSV) Isaiah declares: “Woe to those who make unjust laws… to deprive the poor of their rights.” (Isaiah 10:1–2 NIV) If our freedom depends on the oppression of others, it is not freedom—it is tyranny in a new form. So today, let us choose not to participate in a hollow celebration that ignores these truths. Let us remember that true freedom is collective. It cannot belong solely to the privileged few. It must extend to the poor, the immigrant, the disabled, the marginalized—everyone made in God’s image. As people of faith and conscience, let us demand budgets that uphold life, laws that honor dignity, and leaders who prioritize justice over indifference. Because a nation is judged by how it treats the least of these. These words are trustworthy and true. May we not only remember them but live by them. — Rev. Moya Harris, Director of Racial Justice, Sojourners *My word choice. |
No comments:
Post a Comment