Instead, I was moved by patriotic young children waving flags and singing and sharing the American dream. Eighteen kindergarteners recited the Pledge of Allegiance with their hands over their hearts. And they sang every line of “This Land is Your Land,” Woody Guthrie’s World War II-era national anthem, adopted by anti-war and civil rights activists of my generation.
They were like an epitaph of the Statue of Liberty in miniature caps and gowns. Of course, not the “tired, poor, thronged crowd” (a private preschool in one of the wealthiest counties in the country), but a melting pot of little worlds. No Marys or Johns. Adavan, Aditya, Atticus, Blakely, Charbita, Christian, Claire, Collin, Everett, Fiona, Louie, Mars, Nishka, Noah, Samara, Alzoi, Shikhar, Vianshu. Recently potty trained and diversity training completed.
But Loudoun County, home to petty squabbles over children’s books and toilets, was far removed from the repression that drove millions of immigrants to American shores.
The most heartening moment was when we heard “Students’ Comments on Their Futures.” Each of the four-year-olds declared what they wanted to be when they grew up: a builder, a zookeeper, two scientists. A few more were called into the civil service: a police officer, a firefighter, an astronaut. Six doctors. One “baby.” One “hospital” and a financially savvy “plastic surgeon.” Three young people surprisingly embarked on the rewarding but boring profession of dentist. Another to live in the wild as a tiger. Our granddaughter had big dreams. Socially sociable by nature, she was not wise to follow her grandfather’s path into lobbying. When we asked her why she chose a profession that seemed impossible, she answered without hesitation or explanation: “A unicorn.”
Some of the answers sounded rehearsed, but that’s to be expected in a place where high-achieving parents stay up late working on grade-school science projects. Now in their teens, these graduates may eventually aspire to be the next LeBron James or Taylor Swift. Our resilient democracy could stand a few more celebrity heroes (no more social media influencers).
America may not be on the brink of catastrophe, but polls support Merle Haggard’s view that “the good times” are “well and truly over.” I’m betting against the rest that in what remains the land of opportunity, up-and-coming citizens and their worthy dream jobs are within reach — if they can just get the adults out of the way.
As they say, “Dance like nobody’s watching,” so let’s celebrate the 4th of July as if it were the last day for the United States. There will be no guardrails, no one to say, “Sir, this is not OK.” Armored cars will tear down Pennsylvania Avenue, and Donald Trump’s generals will bow and kiss rings. There will be no reason to celebrate democracy, because it no longer exists. So Americans of all faiths, whether religious or secular, patriot or MAGA, “Embrace your independence,” because come November, our democratic republic will become a MAGA dictatorship and all celebrations will be homage to the King. …
Building a More Perfect Union
The June 30 Washington Post front-page story, “Teachers Push Teens to the Polls Amid Growing Isolation, Pessimism,” about Shannon Salter’s civics class in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a powerful portrayal. The article highlights not only the challenges facing our democracy, but also those facing educators in a society where trust is waning and the effects of the pandemic are lingering in schooling. Since the article was published, civics educators have told me they feel heard and understood.
The skeptical young people of Allentown, along with millions who report feeling alienated from the system, deserve urgent attention. We may be losing the desire to contribute to building a “more perfect union” that our generation has. Young people tend to withdraw. They voice their disappointment about the future of our country every day in classrooms like Mr. Salter’s. In a post-pandemic environment, young people need inspiring ways to immediately engage. A solid civics education cultivates a set of civic habits: listening to others, knowing how to disagree constructively, discerning truth, and, of course, voting. These skills, coupled with knowledge and perspective, build agency and hope. Beyond that, we need to give young people the opportunity to participate in our constitutional democracy and show that it works. The future of our country is at stake.
Louise Dubé, Cambridge, Massachusetts
The author is CEO of iCivics.
The Washington Post’s excellent article misses a key point: Shannon Salter’s students and non-voters have seen so many problems continue for so long that they don’t believe voting will change things. But recent events (particularly the Supreme Court decisions of the past few years and the widening wealth inequality over the decades) should make it very clear that not voting will set us back. When things are bad, we must remember that they can get even worse. Only after we have prevented setbacks can we aspire again to making things better.
Judith Herzfeld, Newton, Massachusetts
Democracy vs. the Supreme Court
Last year during our Independence Day celebration, my 18-year-old daughter said to me, “Why are we celebrating Independence Day? Our country is a mess.” I was very upset at her lack of patriotism, but after the Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, I began to agree with her.
This decision, disguised as legal scholarship, clearly shows the partisan ideology of the Supreme Court. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch said this will be a historic decision, but it is clear that this decision favors one person: Donald Trump. The Supreme Court said that a president deserves a presumption of innocence for official acts, regardless of the intent or benefit of those acts. In practical terms, this could mean an official act by a president bribing a foreign ambassador. Also, Trump’s actions of directing the Department of Justice to investigate false claims of election fraud or directing states to submit fake electors could be considered official acts.
To quote Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion, “This new official conduct immunity now ‘wanders about like a loaded weapon’ to any president who wishes to put his own interests, his own political survival or his own financial gain above the interests of the nation.” The irony here is that the Supreme Court’s decision seems to say that presidential actions must be protected from a vengeful successor, yet the rule could protect Trump, who has vowed to prosecute his successor if he becomes a vengeful one.
The Supreme Court has violated a cornerstone of our democracy: that no one is above the law. This is a devastating blow to our form of government. The days of holding the President accountable, as they were under Richard M. Nixon, are over. The imperial presidency has now officially arrived.
Salvatore Misuraka, Washington
The American people must take immediate action to protect our democracy and the rule of law. Two constitutional amendments are desperately needed. The first is to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity and make it clear that the President and all public officials are equal under the law and are not immune from prosecution or conviction. The second is to clarify the right of all Americans to vote in free and fair elections that are not controlled by the power of money.
This will require both great leadership and vigorous grassroots organizing. Legal and political leaders such as Judge J. Michael Luttig, retired Judge Stephen G. Breyer, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and former Georgia Congresswoman Stacey Abrams should urgently draft a bipartisan constitutional amendment in this direction. This must be coupled with a broad movement to engage millions of Americans to protect their rights, using the democratic process for amending the Constitution that our Founding Fathers established to protect the soul of America.
Regarding the June 24 article, “Sparkling sight takes people’s breath away every night on a dark Utah farm”:
You don’t have to go all the way to Utah to see a spectacular firefly show, just come to Laytonsville, Maryland. We had the privilege of seeing what are called synchronous fireflies. They are one of a very few species of fireflies that have a synchronized light pattern, and although the internet says this species only lives in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and South Carolina, they light up in sync right in our own backyard.
Every night since the summer solstice, we have been mesmerized by the thousands of lights that sparkle in the treetops, from the ground up to 50 feet in the air. They shine in unison, performing an astonishingly harmonious crescendo, building to a spectacular and frenzied finale as they begin to descend closer to the ground to mate with their mates in the grass. It’s like an ocean of light waves illuminating the forest floor beyond the fence, performing a musical dance of light.
Ray Schoenke, Laytonsville, Maryland
