Happy 4th of July!
On this 4th of July, we enter the eve of 250 years of American Freedom. But what does this mean? How do we define freedom today? Who is entitled to freedom? Who deserves it? Who does not?
The following quotes are by prominent Americans who have gone before us. They offer us valuable insights to ponder during our own challenging times.
Accompanying these quotes is a wonderful photograph dated July 2, 1963, by photographer George Brich, from the Valley Times Photo Collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. To see more vintage photographs from his body of work, check out his city, Photography, and feel free to join his tribe to see a new image every week.
All of us at Youtropolis wish you a safe and joyful 4th of July!
1.
Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won—you earn it and win it in every generation.
—Coretta Scott King
2.
What is the spirit of liberty? I cannot define it; I can only tell you my own faith. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside their own without bias. The spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to the earth unheeded. The spirit of liberty is the spirit of Him who, two-thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned, but has never quite forgotten: that there may be a kingdom where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest.
— Learned Hand
3.
Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world...Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity, without discrimination. Unless those rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them closer to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.
— Eleanor Roosevelt
4.
Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
— Abraham Lincoln
Present Valley
Thank you for posting these quotes from the archives.
#3 is so relevant in our world today! And it takes me right to #1 and
the reminder we are always struggling and we must remember and value daily...earning freedom.
youtropolis
So true. There are too many distractions today that pull us away from the need to earn and win our liberty. Also, embedded in our mindset is the notion that our elected leaders will do this for us. But in a democracy it's everyone's job to remain vigilant and active in the pursuit of liberty.
Well Street
Though written long ago, each of these quotes is timely and applicable to today's circumstances.
Understanding the minds and views of others, especially those we'll never see eye-to-eye with, feels like an immensely heavy lift. Yet, this is the spirit of liberty, as Learned Hand says in #2.
Setting aside preconceived notions and judgments to open our hearts and minds is a worthy endeavor to preserve our democracy.
Thank you for sharing.
Evangel
Learned Hand sums up the Spirit of Liberty beautifully. The reminder is important in a nation that professes its allegiance to liberty but where half of its citizens have fully disconnected from it. Thank you for your comment.