Faith Challenges: It Ain't All Comfort

I'm having trouble with celebrating today. It's the Fourth of July marking 250 years since a band of farmers and merchants signed the "Declaration of Independence," thus marking off the beginning of a revolution against rule by the British Monarcy. With that declaration came a lot of dreams and hopes bound in the concept of government being answerable to the will of the governed. It also came with a statement on equality, human rights, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. For generations, we pretended we had arrived at those lofty ideals, though slavery disavowed the equality, only white men who owned land could vote or hold office, and we oppressed one group of people after another, whether slaves, native peoples, or the latest immigrants to these shores. We threw aside the ideas of "The Divine Right of Kings," but step by step allowed the the growth of government controled by the wealthy and their interests. Greed became our King, our God, and t...