As a black attorney with a history degree, I can think of all kinds of reasons not to celebrate today.  I’ve spent much of my life studying the sins of this country, and all of it as a descendant of those whose persecution produced America’s social and economic foundations, who fought with Washington but weren’t given full citizenship (on paper) until 1964, and as a member of a group whose rights are repeatedly violated by the state without consequence.  But when I read John Adams’ letters, or King’s speeches, or Langston’s poems or hear Mahalia’s songs, I am constantly reminded of the peculiar faith that transcends race, class, gender, religion, and the American paradox. The faith in those voices always leaves me feeling a little less justified in my cynicism, not because I am temporarily blinded by the eloquence of the witness, but because of the context of their confession. Theirs was not the faith of the naive, the mis-educated, or the blindly patriotic.  It is the faith of people on the front lines of seemingly unwinnable conflicts, a faith that exists alongside intimate knowledge of the severity of one’s circumstances, yet stands in complete and utter defiance of them.  This is a faith that gives its believers the power to see the overwhelming improbability of victory and still work ceaselessly to achieve it by any means necessary.

That power is as essential today as it ever was.  Yes, there are racist cops who may kill me or someone who looks like me because of the color of our skin, and there are spineless prosecutors and prejudiced jurors that may allow them to get away with murder.  But there are good cops too, and lawyers willing to go against the grain, and jurors who believe that the law should apply to everyone equally.  Are there enough good cops, lawyers and jurors to change the justice system? Probably not, but we can still keep pushing for more police oversight, training, and procedure changes with real consequences for violations.  We can still vote out bad district attorneys and county sheriffs, vote for changes to laws that allow biased jury selection, and show up for jury duty when we are called.  Yes, Congress has overwhelmingly served the interests of the rich to the exclusion of the vast majority for decades, and yes, it and most of our legislative bodies are full of people who won’t even speak to a constituent unless they can give them a $2,000 check on the spot. But there are still a few decent politicians, and plenty of private citizens capable of running for office.  In every gerrymandered district, there are still enough people who don’t vote who could change the course of an election if they did.  And there are still volunteers willing to get dropped off in unfamiliar neighborhoods, walk for hours in any weather, and brave slammed doors and crazy dogs to spread the civic gospel.  Are those good politicians and volunteers going to muster enough votes to change our political climate in the face of opposition from entrenched politicians and billionaire donors?  Probably not, but a different kind of populism could produce yet another president who vastly underspends their more experienced, more established opponent.  And yes, our president is a disaster.  Will he be impeached soon, mercifully ending our national disgrace?  Probably not.  But the founders ensured that he has to run again in four years when they wrote the constitution, because they foresaw the possibility that we might elect a disaster as president once in a while.

Our history shows us that the horror of our sociopolitical reality cannot become permanent until it kills our faith in our ability to change it. And if our current national situation is unbearable, then the necessity of changing it justifies taking a day to celebrate the faith that moved our forbears to change history. There may be a strong probability that this country will soon descend into an open oligarchy, rife with state oppression, racial violence and sectarian conflict.  But then again this country, and the freedoms we still have in it, all exist in spite of what should have been, because of the faith of those who believed that something better than what was probable was possible.  For me, this holiday exists to honor them, to contemplate the awesome privilege and responsibility of being an heir to their faith, and to celebrate my kinship with all those who share in it. Happy Independence Day. Keep the faith.