The Fourth of July and Frederick Douglas
I’ve re-read and posted Frederick Douglas’ essay, What To The Slave is the Fourth of July, every year for the last seven or eight years reasons I explain below. It’s one of the most important pieces of political writing by any American. It’s never been more important as a reminder of the original sin of our country, racism. But this year, I’m sad to say that it’s also never been more questionable because the end of Douglas’s piece is a paean to the ideals of the Enlightenment and their power to overcome the darkness of racism and bigotry. That power is fading before us. We need to do everything we can to restore it, before it is too late. I’m going to leave the rest of what I usually write about the text here, even though I’m far less confident than I’ve ever been that we can live up to… Continue reading