Celebrating My Independence

The Fourth of July is a significant date in American history. It is the day on which The Declaration of Independence was signed by the 13 original colonies.

The Revolutionary War may have started over the argument of the colonists' desiring no British "taxation without representation", i.e., against substantial levies from England, without the ability to vote as a full citizen.  But the reason that the Pilgrims came here in the first place, well before the colonists, was chiefly for religious freedom, not economic freedom.

After a long Revolutionary War, the United States Bill of Rights was passed in 1791. There are ten articles in the Bill of Rights, among them, freedom of religion, freedom of  speech, freedom of assembly, freedom from unlawful search and seizure, due process under the law, right to a speedy trial by jury, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment.

I see how we Americans behave and think, and it seems to me that we take these freedoms for granted. How do I know?

All I have to do is to consider my own past:

We have a right to freedom of speech. Yet, after I married a Catholic, my dad would point his finger in my face and angrily declare, "Catholics refuse to support a political candidate who favors abortion? Give me a break!"  My own family was not supporting the right for Catholics -- and anyone  else-- to speak their opinions freely.

We have a right to freedom of assembly. After my dad died, I moved my mother near me.  With this move, my mother got a chance to meet some of my neighbors and friends, people she had never met before.  One day, she said to me, quietly, "What?-- are ALL of your friends Catholic??!" She was very disapproving, as if she had the right to tell me who to hang out with. My  mother is gone now. I choose my own friends, for whom I do not apologize.

We have a right against unlawful search and seizure. No one can come and, without legal reason, touch our stuff, rough us up, etc. When I was a child, there was no lock on my bedroom door. Family members could -- and did-- boobytrap my room. I would stay up late until everyone was in bed, terrified over who would come into my room and who would harm me. Now, I am grown and in my own home. I can sleep at night, secure that I am physically safe in my bed.

We have a right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment. It seemed that, growing up, I was always being blamed for committing some act I did not do, or being punished for something that was not my fault. I don't know what I did wrong, but one day I came home from school and all  my stuffed animals had been given away.Years later, in grad school, I was the victim of a violent crime. My family did not allow me to come home to heal. Tough love? No; cruel punishment.

We have a right to freedom of religion.  Yet, when I was 14, my parents stopped taking me to church. I would ask to go and they would say, "We already did that." Over time, I felt my faith withering up and floating away. Today, I am grown and married. I live in walking distance from my church. I can enter my church any time I want. I attend Mass regularly and I am deeply grateful for that.

This Independence Day, I am celebrating my own independence. I have all of my freedoms now. But of all my freedoms, I think that the most important one to me is freedom of religion, because that is where the soul lies. For, if we have no soul, we are not truly human.

There is great debate recently about the role of religion in America. In his book, "Coming Apart", Charles Murray presents stark data that America is rapidly becoming a secular society. Murray cites that 59% of white working class Americans describe themselves as totally non-religious.

There are some who would give into this trend of secularization. They would give up on religion altogether, as an archaic and unnecessary institution. I was startled to read in the Wall Street Journal (February 18, 2012), an article by Alain de Botton, author of "Religion For Atheists." In this book, he seems to assume that America has already given up on religion and has decided that a wholly secular society is better anyway. Then, he mourns modern society's loss of sense of community (?!). In conclusion, he proposes that we take the best from religion when it comes to feelings of tolerance and community, but leave aside the pesky inconvenience of  theology. He proposes that we open a Restaurant of Agape (brotherly love), where we can all share a meal together, but stripped of the sacred meaning of the Eucharist.

Is there hope for religion in America? I gained a lot of hope from reading an article in the June 25, 2012 edition of Time magazine. None other than liberal columnist Joe Klein argues in an article, that the government sending out checks alone will not cure what ails America. No, he says, we need faith-based programs to care for our poor, our elderly and our frail citizens, precisely because they offer more than a mass mailing of "cold, impersonal checks. " The churches offer a "loving community that is not judgmental." Their mission is "to comfort and console."

I would say to you that Love counts for more than all the checks in the world. Love is priceless.

This Fourth of July, I will remember all of my freedoms. But chiefly I will honor my freedom to worship my God. Call me crazy, but after I sleep safe and secure in my bed, after I give thanks for my friends and family, and for the merciful ( not cruel) judgment of God ---I am going to Mass. I am going to stand up in church and be counted as one citizen who is grateful that I can go to church whenever the spirit moves me!

"One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

(Related posting, "Freedom of Religion", March 7, 2012).

(c) The Spiritual Devotional, 2012. All Rights Reserved.