On November 15, Ken Burns will premiere his newest video documentary, this one on the American Revolution. It will be among the first efforts to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States of America. It won’t be the last.
I want to be part of the celebration. I don’t remember much about the bicentennial of 1976, except we had an election, and Jimmy Carter was elected president. I remember him and Rosealyn walking down Pennsylvania Avenue (instead of riding in a car). They were holding hands and waving to the crowd.
The federal government will, for sure, throw a party or two next year. If the July 5th parade and the upcoming Kennedy Honors (both in Washington DC) are any foretaste, these tax-funded birthday extravaganzas will be “full of sound and fury signifying nothing.” In other words, they will feature, one, the President, two, signs of force, and three, lots of gold. There will certainly be no diversity, no equality, and no inclusion of the wide spectrum of American people and the American experience. In other words, they will not be true to our native land; they will be a shameful distortion of who we are and what we have been and what we aspire to be.
I want to plan my own celebration, and I urge you to do the same.
In 1976, I had no part in any planning or performance related to the bicentennial. I was 26 years old and still in school trying to figure out how to be a minister, a theologian, and a writer. I was the pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church in Ripley County, Indiana. Plus, I was married with two children. Isaac Thomas was and is our bicentennial baby, so I suppose there were some fireworks in our house that year.
Next year, I want to help the country celebrate. I want to celebrate the diversity of our land and its people. I want to embrace a fresh notion of equity (or equality, and I am not sure I understand the difference). I want to include in my celebration, not just people and events and ideas but also places and poetry and pictures of all kinds. I want to do some things that I will remember and perhaps somebody else will remember.
I have in mind a series of articles, about our American experience, written by a diverse spectrum of people, including those native to our land and those who have come from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Are you interested in writing? Do you know somebody who might like to write for this Meetinghouse version of America’s party?
What about an art exhibit on the weekly pages of The Meetinghouse newsletter? Perhaps we could solicit entries by artists from all over the country: paintings, sketches, sculptures, even the pottery that populates the pavilions at Farmer’s Markets in my community and yours. I know people who might participate and others who might serve as judges (if we are able to give cash prizes, and that will depend upon finding benefactors—we will name the prize for you if you want to jump in with some cash!).
What about an in-person gathering? For years, I have dreamed of hosting an event, a Meetinghouse event, bringing together many of the people who read this newsletter or watch Sunday in the House. Maybe the national birthday party is a good occasion; and would not a weekend in the mountains of Carolina be a better venue than the streets of the District of Columbia (where, I dare say, federal troops will still be in occupation mode)?
At our event, we could feature such American practices as cooking food and climbing mountains, debating, dancing and dramatizing a thing or two, and certainly singing the songs of America, from “Lift Every Voice” and “This Land is Your Land” to “America the Beautiful” and “Sweet Caroline.” Maybe I can get Everett McCorvey to come and lead us to sing, “Walk together children and don’t you get weary, there’s a great camp meeting in the promise land.”
What say ye? Would you like to plan something like this, or attend, or play your instrument, or cook your meal? Would you like to make some art or award a prize to somebody that does? Would you like to take a hike, sit by a waterfall and give thanks? Would you like to celebrate the people, the places, and the promise of America?
Tell me what you think?
On November 15, Ken Burns will premiere his newest video documentary, this one on the American Revolution. It will be among the first efforts to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States of America. It won’t be the last.
I want to be part of the celebration. I don’t remember much about the bicentennial of 1976, except we had an election, and Jimmy Carter was elected president. I remember him and Rosealyn walking down Pennsylvania Avenue (instead of riding in a car). They were holding hands and waving to the crowd.
The federal government will, for sure, throw a party or two next year. If the July 5th parade and the upcoming Kennedy Honors (both in Washington DC) are any foretaste, these tax-funded birthday extravaganzas will be “full of sound and fury signifying nothing.” In other words, they will feature, one, the President, two, signs of force, and three, lots of gold. There will certainly be no diversity, no equality, and no inclusion of the wide spectrum of American people and the American experience. In other words, they will not be true to our native land; they will be a shameful distortion of who we are and what we have been and what we aspire to be.
I want to plan my own celebration, and I urge you to do the same.
In 1976, I had no part in any planning or performance related to the bicentennial. I was 26 years old and still in school trying to figure out how to be a minister, a theologian, and a writer. I was the pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church in Ripley County, Indiana. Plus, I was married with two children. Isaac Thomas was and is our bicentennial baby, so I suppose there were some fireworks in our house that year.
Next year, I want to help the country celebrate. I want to celebrate the diversity of our land and its people. I want to embrace a fresh notion of equity (or equality, and I am not sure I understand the difference). I want to include in my celebration, not just people and events and ideas but also places and poetry and pictures of all kinds. I want to do some things that I will remember and perhaps somebody else will remember.
I have in mind a series of articles, about our American experience, written by a diverse spectrum of people, including those native to our land and those who have come from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Are you interested in writing? Do you know somebody who might like to write for this Meetinghouse version of America’s party?
What about an art exhibit on the weekly pages of The Meetinghouse newsletter? Perhaps we could solicit entries by artists from all over the country: paintings, sketches, sculptures, even the pottery that populates the pavilions at Farmer’s Markets in my community and yours. I know people who might participate and others who might serve as judges (if we are able to give cash prizes, and that will depend upon finding benefactors—we will name the prize for you if you want to jump in with some cash!).
What about an in-person gathering? For years, I have dreamed of hosting an event, a Meetinghouse event, bringing together many of the people who read this newsletter or watch Sunday in the House. Maybe the national birthday party is a good occasion; and would not a weekend in the mountains of Carolina be a better venue than the streets of the District of Columbia (where, I dare say, federal troops will still be in occupation mode)?
At our event, we could feature such American practices as cooking food and climbing mountains, debating, dancing and dramatizing a thing or two, and certainly singing the songs of America, from “Lift Every Voice” and “This Land is Your Land” to “America the Beautiful” and “Sweet Caroline.” Maybe I can get Everett McCorvey to come and lead us to sing, “Walk together children and don’t you get weary, there’s a great camp meeting in the promise land.”
What say ye? Would you like to plan something like this, or attend, or play your instrument, or cook your meal? Would you like to make some art or award a prize to somebody that does? Would you like to take a hike, sit by a waterfall and give thanks? Would you like to celebrate the people, the places, and the promise of America?
Tell me what you think?
Recent Posts
Related Posts
Not Long Enough
“That Was Incredible!”
We Ordained a Man
I Went for a Walk