A Remarkable Holiday for Americans
Apologies for the long gap between posts. I’ll try to get back “on track” soon.
And thank you for all the kind queries during the gap. You missed the posts (and I’m very grateful to hear that), as well as for what you had to say.
This day is a splendid opportunity for returning to our shared enthusiasms, for today is one of the best days in all American history.
Indeed, it’s so important I won’t even attempt to do my own description for Juneteenth. I can’t do it as well as Heather Cox Richardson did it with her column today.
Take a look at June 18, 2025 (Wednesday), published last night.
If you don’t have time to read her message, take a look at the short video noted at the bottom of the column (https://youtu.be/E7UaaAyPqPY?t=14).
It’s very well done. And if you have children or grandchildren, share it with them. We hear much about how young people, not inclined to read, don’t learn from reading. It’s with videos like this that they can learn about their history, and when we discuss the subject with them, they’re ready.
And in a slight change of subject, on our recent European trip we were able to give much attention to the efforts (both successes and disasters) of the Resistance in World War II in Europe.
There will more about this in later posts, but for now, let me share a connection I see between the Resistance and Juneteenth. In both, we have a situation that threatens basic humanity. And we have a need, and hopefully the opportunity, to rise above a painful, seemingly insurmountable threat to human society.
Is there a lesson for us here?
Yes. And it’s a simple lesson: we must be thankful for what we have, for where we’ve come from as a human society. And we must do what we can to prevent such situations from coming back to us.
Remembering (and enjoying) Juneteenth is truly a great way to do this.
I look forward to being in touch again soon. Feel free, if you are so inclined, to respond to this post. And if you want to allow me to share your response with other readers, just say so.
Thank you.