“Am I embarrassed to speak for a less than perfect democracy? Not one bit. Find me a better one. Do I suppose there are societies which are free of sin? No, I don’t. Do I think ours is, on balance, incomparably the most hopeful set of human relations the world has? Yes, I do.” ― Daniel Patrick Moynihan

I know I’m not supposed to open myself up too much on these pages, but on this day of all days I feel compelled to do just that. 

Independence Day is a special day for my family. With I don’t know how many militia soldiers and at least two Continental officers from both sides of my bloodlines who helped secure our national independence, July 4th is a little more than just another holiday here. 

As a child of the ’60s, I’ve raised my children to have a deep appreciation for the whole of our history. They’re both named after soldiers from those family bloodlines. But having a big-picture view of who and what we are can at times be daunting, if not downright overwhelming, especially for young people. There is a lot to process, and on a lot of different levels. 

We are a nation of people descended from slaves, indentured servants, religious outcasts, rebels, many persecuted and pursued. Now, am I glad they all went through what they did for me to be here today? Nope, not even close. But without the trials and tribulations of our ancestors, what would our lives be today? And specifically regarding America — how many of us might not even be here today without them?

Could it be it was all part of God’s plan?  

I know this much — with the massive influence so many incredible black men and women have had on my life, I honestly cannot imagine the man I’d be today without them. Honestly, I don’t want to. And if it took slavery to make it possible for my path to intersect with theirs, then I have to believe that someone somewhere somehow who has a plan in place much too large for any us to even comprehend meant for it to work out just as it has for all involved. 

As a Christian, I firmly believe in trusting that plan, and in the power of love and forgiveness. I understand that the concept of forgiveness isn’t so much for the one needing forgiveness as it is for the one offering the forgiveness. Your saying “I forgive you” is the one true way to unlock the burdens placed on your heart by other human beings who are just as flawed as you are — even from hundreds of years ago. 

I believe we can love our nation and at the same time not love every chapter of her story. But just like any other ongoing work, the completed chapters are done and cannot be undone. All we can do is learn from those early chapters — some harder than others — and vow to do better, be better in the chapters yet unwritten. 

So, knowing that none of us can go back and ‘fix’ all of the wrongs that have been done throughout history, what do we do? 

We forgive. We acknowledge the wrongs and those perpetrating them, and simply say “I forgive you.” 

As I’ve said before, all our most respected historical figures, from George Washington through Martin Luther King Jr., were just as human and thusly flawed as each of us are. They lived and they learned, just as we have along our path. But above their wrongs there was much right, and that is what we need to remember on this day. 

Acknowledging those mistakes, it is up to us to say “I forgive you” for them so that we can together create a path to healing the amazing nation we call home today. If we don’t, how will we ever truly find freedom in our own heart, much less in our own nation? 

All of our ancestors paid a steep price for all of us to have the opportunity to live the lives we have as Americans today in the here and now. Let’s be proud of their strength, celebrate their triumphs, and still learn from their mistakes while we yet learn from each other about the unique trials by fire represented by each of us through our DNA. 

There is great strength to be found in that, if we will only allow it to be found. Finding it and nurturing it will take bravery, wisdom, love, and yes, forgiveness.

I beseech you to search your heart, and find that forgiveness that will allow us to move forward together. If Jesus himself, dying with nails hammered through his hands and feet on that cross, could say “Father forgive them, they know not what they do…” then I ask you – who are we to do less?

Two hundred forty-four years ago a rag-tag band of ordinary people of all colors secured our national independence, and articulated ideals of liberty, equality, civic responsibility and natural and civil rights we still pursue even today that have shaped our nation’s history and inspired the world, and will continue to shape and inspire the future. 

On this day of all days, the celebration of our Declaration of Independence, let us resolve to do our part to move this nation forward together in the spirit of forgiveness and love — if not for us, then for our generations of Americans still yet unborn.