The God Given Freedom
Sylvia Hungerford, RScP
“Love is the sole impulse for creation. No one can
swing out into the Universal without love, for the whole universe is based
upon it. Love is the greatest power in the Universe, it is the basis and the
source of everything.”
– Ernest Holmes
On July 15, 1776, the signing of the Declaration of Independence when the 13 Colonies celebrated their freedom from Great Britain. As a result, the United States annually celebrates this freedom on July 4th.
In the past I’ve written newsletters about 4th of July celebrations, fireworks and picnics with family and friends. I decided to explore what the non-white experienced was during this time. Were they “Free”?
Black people in the early years of the United States had a complicated relationship to the Fourth of July holiday, confronting a “national double-speak” in which white Americans celebrated their freedom of political expression while supporting the enslavement of Black people.
On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass, by then, a well-established activist and abolitionist, gave a Fourth of July lecture he titled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” In part of the speech, Douglass says in answer, “a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.” Throughout the speech, Douglass looks at the contradictions between the reality of slavery and the lofty claims of a just society outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The federal government treated Indians separately as independent nations, dependent peoples, and obstacles to be removed from the path of progress, sometimes by separate confinement on reservations and other times by forced assimilation.
Two Hispanic noblemen were instrumental in helping the colonial army win independence from Britain.
I visited Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, a historical district and living history museum. I didn’t see any Hispanics.
But Black communities would often celebrate on July 5, to avoid violence. Through the 1800s, Black Americans used the July Fourth to argue for emancipation and full citizenship, making the case that Black citizens – free and enslaved – had as much right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as white people.
I just wanted to give a broader perspective that not everyone was celebrating freedom on the 4th of July.
Practicing the Science of Mind principles, may we continue to raise the consciousness of true freedom. I trust that this July 4th each American experiences the “The God given Freedom” we are meant to have.
Have a peaceful and blessed 4th of July.
Sylvia Hungerford, RScP
Sylvia Hungerford has been a Practitioner in Centers for Spiritual Living since 2013, where she completed her studies through Seal Beach CSL. From the moment she joined the SBCSL community, Sylvia has been dedicated to serving in many capacities. Her joy, wisdom, and enthusiasm is contagious! She has been trained in Grief Support, and Grief Support; Loss of a Child. Sylvia brings great depth and empathy to her grief support work here at the center. Through her personal experiences, studies in Science of Mind, and dedication, she brings great wisdom and compassion to the healing of others while on their grief journeys. Since the completion of her own Practitioner studies, Sylvia has been assisting in SBCSL’s Practitioner Training courses, both as a Teacher and a Mentor. She also co-facilitates Living and Thriving Grief, a support group here at Seal Beach Center for Spiritual Living.