“Equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it.” By Frances Wright
4th of July 2021
To set this record straight, I am proud to be a United States citizen. I was blessed to be born in this country. I am happy not to be somewhere else wishing this was the country I could live in. 
In terms of “Independence Day”, I am also proud for having worn the US military uniform with honor. Serving during my time was not very popular. It was during the Viet-Nam Era when the anti-war sentiments and other social issues prevailed.
Before me, several of my uncles served in either WWI, WWII, the Korean Conflict, or the Viet-Nam Conflict. I was fortunate to know each of them and I was aware their service involved horrific battles in foreign countries. Their military service time was during the time when Jim Crow laws ruled in our country. For them, Jim Crow days were some of the darkest social and political times in our history. My uncles knew very well from life’s experience what segregation, degradation, and injustice felt like.
But they had also seen what the absence of independence, freedom, and liberty looked like in other parts of the world. 
Each one returned home safe and proud of their service and hopeful conditions would change at home. And, this hope arrived when Dr. King’s leadership took hold.
These uncles are all gone now and I admired each one of them; Charles, Billy, Henry, Kelly, and David along with many of their cousins who also served. They were great role models as citizens and US military veterans. I enjoyed the fact that I had the status of veteran to share with them.
I think of these uncles when I hear and see the disrespect many have for the flag, the national anthem, and our Pledge of Allegiance. Recently, I heard it said that “the 4th of July is not ours or it means nothing to us…black folks.”
Maybe my uncles would disagree although they knew they could not enjoy all of the freedoms promised by our Constitution. Where else was there even the promise independence and the potential for the fullness of freedom available to black folks outside of this country? I think if they or even we knew or believed there was such a utopia, many bags would be packed already. 
With this country’s faults and failures…this is still our independence and our 4th of July and the freedoms we have means something to many of us.
The simple freedom of writing a Post each week seen all over the world is a freedom millions and millions do not have. So far, I have not been shut down or threatened. I just keep writing and you keep reading. This is Independence!
Weather Update…!
My local weather here in southeast Washington state continues to be hot. It has cooled down some and this week’s temperatures are in the low 100’s and high 90’s…unlike last week when we had 110 plus degrees. More significant than the temperature now are the hazardous dry conditions for wild fires and droughts due to lack of rainfall. The beautiful northwest could be in serious danger.
Volunteer Teacher Update…!
“Friends” we are in great need for a couple more volunteer teachers to support our on-line educational program scheduled to start in a couple weeks.
Are you available? Do you have a colleague, a friend, a relative who would or could benefit from the experience of teaching Spanish speaking students English?
I am including a link to a list of written presentations high school students prepared at the close of the last semester. See how advanced they are and how you could move them all towards more proficiency. Dedicated educators such as Dr. Keller, Jane Rutledge, and others serve as “lights of hope” for these students. So much I owe to all of them.
https://copeyspring2021.weebly.com/
Our time is getting very short and I remain confident that we can do this. We can continue assisting the Copey Learning Center as we have been doing successfully for almost 8 years.
Contact me at atbroady@aol.com if you have an interest or questions. In the meantime, view the link provided.
Your words are helpful, wise and hopeful. Thank you, Scrapper.