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POLITY - a voice for action occupies a bit of a different space in the world of fierce, courageous people who are the front line of defense for the democracy we love.
It's written as a service to you: to educate, to inspire, to re-assure you that we have a path to defend this glorious democracy.
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A Young Democracy Still ”Making its Bones”
An extraordinary anniversary of our country’s birth approaches. On July 4, 2025 we commemorate 250 years since the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.
We have an opportunity to reflect on the significant successes we’re achieving in defending the massive threat to our democratic union, and to rededicate our efforts to defend this country we love by vanquishing authoritarianism.
As we defend our great land, we meet people of every ethnicity, familial history and economics who partner with us to fortress the values we hold dear. Our inalienable rights.
We’ve Been Here Before
The Founders foresaw the situation we face today and others that preceded it. The oppression that led to the American Revolution arose again when slavery ended in the Civil War - the language of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution codifying the dissolution of slavery in the 13th Amendment:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
World War II was the ultimate example of how all the citizens of this, and other countries came together to extinguish the greatest oppression of its day - and then something new arose.
European citizens and legislators were newly dedicated to protecting their democratic rights, their autonomy and their security. New strategic and international partnerships arose between the U.S., Canada and western European countries. The founding of NATO.
A Question of Hope
Admittedly, I have found “hope” to be an overused, indefinable, gauzy kind of word that has felt disempowering. Like, when other better efforts fail, let’s “hope” for a different result.
Still, there is something ineffable about hope. It cannot be fully translated, but is transmuted into a greater, infinitely more powerful energy that is always present in the human condition.
I hope you’ll read the following poem, a meditation really, that was written by Dave Joseph Jr in his publication “Whispers & Wildfires.” Allow the impact of where hope is found to seep into you. I can’t imagine a more apropos gift to ourselves for our 249th birthday celebration:
“Hope is a Form of Resistance” by Dave Joseph Jr.
Hope is not passive.
It does not whisper
only when the storm subsides.
It roars
in the middle of the flood,
grips the broken hand
and says, Hold on.
Hope is not a wish—
it is a weapon.
Hope is a form of resistance.
It walks into a room
where futures have been stolen
and plants a seed anyway.
It speaks in courtrooms
where silence is expected,
and sings in classrooms
where books have forgotten our names.
Hope wears work boots,
not wings.
It is built
in soup kitchens,
in protest lines,
in pews where tired saints
still raise holy hands
for justice not yet seen.
Hope stands
when grief says sit.
It rises
when oppression says kneel.
It keeps marching
when the road
has been paved
with disappointment.
There are names
we remember
because hope kept them alive.
Songs that survived
because someone believed
the melody mattered.
Movements that breathed
because a mother refused
to let her child
grow up
believing nothing could change.
Hope resists
not because it is blind,
but because it sees too much
to give up.
It remembers the lynching tree
and still dares
to hang lights
in the branches.
It hears the verdict
and still votes.
It buries its dead
and still builds.
Hope is not naïve.
It knows the weight of history,
but carries it anyway.
It is not quiet—
it’s the drumbeat
beneath the chant,
the tremble in the voice
that still says yes
when the world has said no.
So we carry hope
like fire
in our chests.
We pass it
like torches
down crowded streets
and family tables.
We protect it,
not because it is fragile,
but because it is sacred.
And in the days
when the sky grows heavy,
when your voice feels small,
when the world seems unmoved—
remember:
Hope is not for the untested.
Hope is for the bold.
Hope is how we resist
without becoming what we resist.
Hope is how we rise,
how we rebuild,
how we remember
that we are still here—
not by accident,
but by audacity.
Because hope,
true hope,
will always be
the beginning
of freedom.
In hand with our skillful democracy efforts lies the epic opportunity to birth an America with a stronger, more resilient core.
It’s a Sisyphean task, but any goal of immense value, is. The continual, often ineffective, efforts that frustrate us now are guideposts to know what steps to take next.
If there is one thing I’ve learned, it is that democracy is an idea that is never complete. Its power is fully realized as people are enfranchised and emancipated from the invisible walls between us. When we recognize ourselves in each other, our power is unstoppable.
This July 4, 2025, make it a day of celebration: of country, of personal liberty, of family and friends, of the resources everywhere around, of the rich tapestry we all contribute to.
“Swallow whole the embers of fear, forever fueled by the hope that sustains us.” Linda Naylor
The democratic ember burns brightly in me and in you.
Happy Independence Day.
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