Today is Juneteenth in my country. President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation finally became a reality when the last slaves were set free on June 19th, 1865. It’s not surprising that the annual celebration of “Juneteenth” began there. Or that it eventually bloomed into a national holiday–at least for Black people.
But now that’s changing as Americans of all colors are beginning to acknowledge and celebrate June 19th. And well we should. Just as all Germans should celebrate April 11th. The day Buchenwald, the largest Nazi concentration camp, was opened and its last surviving victims were set free. No matter how some may feel about it.
June 19th is our holiday. No matter how some of us may feel about it. Or rather, because of how we feel about it. Yes, it feels different to those whose ancestors were slaves than those whose ancestors owned slaves. Just as April 11th feels different to those whose parents were concentration camp victims than those whose parents were Nazis—or who simply closed their eyes to the atrocities being committed by their nation.
Our history is cratered with hypocrisy. All nations’ histories are cratered with hypocrisy. And any history lesson that fails to acknowledge that—including all of its ramifications—is a lie. Yes, courageous Europeans settled this “new world.” But they also trampled on the rights of people who’d already been here for millennia, unintentionally (and intentionally) wiping out the vast majority of them.
Later, descendants of the same Europeans founded a model of democracy admired and emulated throughout the world. Yet many of America’s founders owned slaves, and didn’t fully acknowledge their own hypocrisies. Still, July 4th is a holiday that belongs to all of us. No matter how some of us may feel about it.
Yes, they were hypocrites. But we don’t celebrate what they did wrong. We celebrate what they did right. Should we tear down the statues of those whose primary achievement was promoting slavery? Yes! But not those who laid the groundwork for the end of slavery (even if they didn’t enact it) with their proclamation that “all men are created equal.”
All of our heroes are hypocrites, because all humans are hypocrites–each of the heroes shown above had a dark side and personal failings. And so the only way to move forward is to confess our wrongdoings. And to celebrate our right-doings. To acknowledge all of our beauty and all of our scars…
Together.
I would say our scars contribute to our beauty, essentially because our scars are a significant element of our being and our identity.
This is an amazing post, Mitch. You’ve touched on some very important points. We need to wake up and be aware of all the hypocrisy within the borders of this nation.
Amen, Kathy.
Amen
Very interesting, I agree, but you opened up a can of worms on this one, messing with our heroes, but I support you, I will not leave on the edge by yourself🙂
Great post, so true, including myself, hypocrite
Thanks, L.G.
Although I did not know this holiday, I find it extraordinarily important and I quite agree with you. ANd we must remember that all heroes carry with them their tragic flaw. Better not to have heroes but to hold all accountable and seek for inner wisdom rather than from someone else. Loved the post Mitch! Cheers.
Thank you, Francisco.
Pleasure Mitch.
Well said! May many actually absorb this reality and be kind.
It’s easy to criticize a leader of the present or the past. It’s an entirely different thing to have been in their shoes such as knowing whatever their decision is will cost lives but which decision will cost less. Any leader has or will get it right but not every single time. Just like the rest of us.
Good point: “we don’t celebrate what they did wrong. We celebrate what they did right.”
Thank you, Suzanne.
Did not know this
But now that’s changing as Americans of all colors are beginning to acknowledge and celebrate June 19th. And well we should. Just as all Germans should celebrate April 11th. The day Buchenwald, the largest Nazi concentration camp, was opened and its last surviving victims were set free. No matter how some may feel about it.
Beautifully said. Sadly, here in Florida, our benighted governor and legislature refuse to acknowledge Juneteenth as a holiday.
I simply cannot understand that, Lynn.
Well said Mitch!
Thanks, old buddy! How are you doing, my friend? Love to Germaine and the fam.
“All nations’ histories are cratered with hypocrisy. And any history lesson that fails to acknowledge that is a lie.” Unfortunately, this is the federal mandate right now. Erasure of anything that questions the perfection of America. It’s a return to the history lessons of my childhood where Columbus was a hero and Native Americans were vermin to be eradicated. Sad stuff.
Indeed, Jeff.
I love this and agree! Great post.
Thank you, Lisa.
Spot on, Mitch!
Thank you, Edward.
Thank you for sharing
My pleasure, Kishan.
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Word!
Good points. Lots to think about!
Great post, Mitch!! Thanks for the great thoughts. We all need to remember that we should learn from our past mistakes.
Thanks, Tim.
See a blog I did called “God’s Selective Memory”… and all of us can be thankful about what He chooses to remember.
❤️🙏
Amen to that, C.A.
Happy Juneteenth Mitch! “None of us are free until all of us are free” – Ms. Opal
Exactly, Gregory. And thank you.
Great Post! Better late than never! Forgive us Lord!
Thanks, Wenda.
A very bold article!
Absolutely on the money, Mitch. Therein lies the paradox of hero worship. When it comes to perfect people, there has only been One.
You are right Mitch. Situations of time vary in society’s judgment of who’s a hypocrite or not? Juneteenth matters more now to expose those whose hypocrisy does this historical record harm.