It's Independence Day and I appreciate this country, but I know there needs to be a lot more work done to make it better. John Pavlovitz says it well in his blog
The news has been covering whether we should have Confederate statues and monuments removed from public places. I've never been to Germany, but I can't imagine that they proudly display Hitler statues or Swastikas around. That's a part of their history but it's not something to be celebrated anymore than our Confederate statues and flags. I find it interesting that people criticize the practice of giving all kids participation trophies/medals/ribbons, yet many of these same people have no problem putting up statues of those who lost the Civil War. The Confederates were on the wrong side of history and ethics, and yet folks still want to glorify them. Yes, it's a part of history and I think these monuments should be in museums if folks want to preserve them. They don't, in my opinion, belong in public places any more than statues of Hitler. If anything, leaving them in public sends the message that we long for those "good ol' days when great Americans enslaved people."
Also in the news, there was a madman shooting up the Republican baseball field where practice was being held. For an instant, I thought there was bipartisan agreement that rhetoric should be toned down on both sides of the aisle. But that turned out to be just my imagination hoping for the best. Already 45 is tweeting ridiculous nonsense about other TV personalities and journalists; and now it appears that people were just saying that the OTHER side needed to tone down THEIR rhetoric. Things were probably already divisive when Obama was President, but 45 seems to empower right-wing extremists because he gets to say/do anything he wants and still be a leader of one of the most powerful nations on Earth.
Which leads me to my last thought about posts I've been seeing about "praying for our leaders." This is usually telling Christians that we should be praying for 45. I pray for him, alright, but I don't pray for his agenda or his extremist followers. I don't even pray that he tweets less; I pray that people see his tweets and eventually realize what a dangerous person he is with the hatred and immature behavior he exudes. I pray that Robert Mueller does a complete investigation and reveals 45 to be the slime I believe he is. I pray that James Mattis does a great job with the military in helping to keep the world (not just US) safe. I pray that the people in Congress actually take care of the people (and not "their" tax dollars) when trying to work out healthcare. I pray that self-professed Christians realize that it's not "their" money, it's God's money... and that He is watching what they are doing and saying with those resources. I pray that Americans can work together for true equality and justice for all... towards the ideal that America represents.
