We came to earth with courage, eyes wide open, and cleaning supplies.
So beautifully expressed. We did come here courageous and open and we do have supplies. Optimism. Realism, Unity. So many supplies.
Even the things that hurt, that makes us uncomfortable, that makes us afraid, all combine to wake us up and move us forward.
I just started Ken Burns’ six-part American Revolution on PBS. I’m only partway through episode one, and it’s already exquisite—and painfully timely. It shows the real truth, courage, and patriotism that today’s self-styled “patriots” (Patriot Act bravado and all the rest) wouldn’t recognize if it hit them in the face. The bravery of the people who birthed this country—women, men, and young fighters alike—is something we should still be humbled by. I hope it sparks something in our youth.
It also doesn’t flinch from America’s darkest truths: the brutal crimes committed against Native Americans from the very beginning and across the entire 250 years that followed. Even those who fought with the colonists were betrayed, pushed aside, and dispossessed. We won freedom from a monarchy while stealing freedom—and lives—from the people already here.
I’m sharing this in our “Collective Shadow” thread not to drag anyone down, but because we can’t understand American democracy without seeing its full, complicated reality. It’s part of why I can’t stomach the saccharine nationalism of the NFL anthem ritual. The myth doesn’t match the history.
Still, I believe facing our shadow is the only way to create the more beautiful world we all sense is possible—and I genuinely believe we will. Truth, even when it’s sad or uncomfortable, has its own kind of beauty.
If the rest of the series is as honest and stunning as what I’ve seen so far, it’s well worth watching.
@lynn @unk-p @bluebelle @deetoo @tesseract @lowtide @seaholly