The park ranger set the scene in the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall). She told of the Continental Congress debating whether to declare independence from Britain in 1776.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I began to imagine the appointed \u201ccommittee of five\u201d (Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman) disagree and compromise as they perfected Jefferson\u2019s document. We know it as the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its preamble famously begins: \u201cWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The word \u201cfreedom\u201d isn\u2019t found there. But the power and value of \u201cfreedom\u201d nourish every word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our family spent the day drinking in some of the historical background of Philadelphia\u2019s central role in America\u2019s fight for freedom. Our eyes, hearts and minds were opened to the fight that still continues on so many levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The year 1776 is 248 years ago. It\u2019s not really a long time as we reflect on how much our country has grown and how much potential maturity we have before us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In those 248 years, freedom has been a taken-for-granted privilege for many, an unattainable reality for many, and a hard-fought achievement for many. For all of us, freedom has been more fragile than any of us care to think about!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in this 2024 election year, we must consider the fragility of freedom. As we reflect on freedom\u2019s valuable vulnerabilities, we\u2019d also be wise to look at the fragility of \u201ctruth\u201d in our culture today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus\u2019 famous words from John 8:32 asserts that \u201cyou shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.\u201d I don\u2019t know what our founding fathers thought about that assertion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I know when truth is up-for-sale (like disinformation masquerading as \u201ctruth\u201d), so are the concept and the reality of freedom. For years, I\u2019ve used the term \u201ctruth-pieces\u201d to describe how we dabble much more in bits of truth rather than capture the full truth of anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We must embody humility and courage to admit we don\u2019t know \u2013 let alone possess \u2013 the complete truth of anything. Until we do that, I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll be humble or courageous enough to hold our freedoms in our hands like the fragile birds they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which brings me to the 1964 Freedom Summer. Sixty years ago, an incredibly audacious, root-deep radical effort was organized to increase voter registration among Black Americans in Mississippi. This campaign began with the murders of three Black CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) workers \u2013 James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner \u2013 in June 1964.<\/p>\n\n\n\n