Unity in True Freedom

What we can all learn from Juneteenth

Beth Hoffman writes from the farm at Whippoorwill Creek Farm in Lovilia, Iowa. Interested in beef, goat or veggies? Get in touch with Beth and her husband John at WhippoorwillCreekFarmIowa@gmail.com.

One of my favorite holidays of the year is Passover, a Jewish holiday that tells the story of Exodus. In the ritual (known as a Seder, which FYI was what people were likely doing at the Last Supper) participants sit around the table (typically in someone’s home) and discuss the enslavement of the Jews, how it has impacted us as a people, and how slavery continues to be an issue today for many around the world.

The Last Supper was likely a Passover Seder, where even Jesus talked about slavery

Over the years, I have invited many guests to my Seders, many of them non-Jews, and miraculously the sharing of this history has never resulted in my guests leaving paralyzed with guilt or convinced that the world is full of evil. To the contrary, most leave with compassion and a deeper understanding of the Jewish people, the historical and emotional connections between us all, and of me.

Juneteenth––observed yesterday, June 19th––is a similar holiday, not so coincidentally also about the freeing of slaves. It acknowledges the day slaves in Texas finally learned they were free in 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln. The day was also a full two months after Robert E Lee, head of the Confederate Army, surrendered.

Clearly there are stark differences between Passover and Juneteenth. Jews were enslaved by Egyptians long ago, while Blacks were kept as slaves by other Americans in a not that distant past. Exodus is part of the religious tradition for a majority of people in the US, while the emancipation of slaves in the US is often interpreted as an event limited to a small group of people.

But by any measure, the end of institutionalized slavery in the USA is an important moment in American history, no? (We were one of the last countries to do so.) Critically important I would think, as in if you met someone from Mars who wanted to know the ten most important moments in American history, you would say, "And then there was slavery that was made illegal by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 but didn't really end until 1865 when the last slaves learned of their freedom."

It is a moment in history akin to the Boston Tea Party, say, or even July 4th, 1776 when the country's founders signed the Declaration of Independence, announcing the freedom of the United States from Britain. Events about human redemption and freedom are a reason to celebrate, to acknowledge our human condition and the ability of us all to transcend horrific times.

We humans have the capacity relate to stories like those told on Passover or on Juneteenth, even if we never experienced slavery ourselves. We can picture a day, after generations of bondage, someone rides up on a horse and tells you that you and your people are set free. We can transport us into that moment to feel the joy and the anger and the confusion and the exultation all at once. We can pause to think about how our histories are intertwined and the work to still be done.

Yet a small group of loud people like Montana Representative Matt Rosendale have different ideas about the observance. He posted on his website:

“Let’s call an ace an ace. This is an effort by the Left to create a day out of whole cloth to celebrate identity politics as part of its larger efforts to make Critical Race Theory the reigning ideology of our country.  Since I believe in treating everyone equally, regardless of race, and that we should be focused on what unites us rather than our differences…I will vote no. The Left has made up what was primarily a Texas holiday, which they are now acting like they recently discovered, in order to continually make Americans feel bad and convince them that our country is evil.”

I am baffled by this. First off, why would you think that anyone in this country would want to try to make everyone feel like it is evil?

And at its root, is he saying that what unites us is our avoidance of unpleasant emotions?

In fact, what is the uniting glue between us if it is not our humanity, our collective pain and joy?

It is an interesting part of our American culture, this insistence on perfection, a facade of look-at-my-perfect-life Instagram posts. The Rosendale’s of the world seem to say that unity (and perhaps even the “pursuit of happiness”) is to be found in acquiescence, in the fitting in and the making do. Americans should not be complainers, introspectives, or "trouble-makers;" real men (and women) must be strong, assured and never look back. No wonder we have a mental health crisis in this country.

I will take the Passover and Juneteenth style of unity instead. Unity in sharing our individual stories, the telling of who we are and where we came from. The unity that allows us to challenge assumptions and to grow, to be flawed and still be human and lovable.

That is true freedom.

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ICYMI - some great articles by writers in the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative this week!

Check out Steph Copley, a new columnist with IWC in her blog It Was Never A Dress:

I transformed from a girl with a heart full of good intentions but a head full of unrecognized naivety to a fiercely outspoken woman with her hair on fire about the unfair, unjust, and inequitable state of the world.

I love it.

And Cheryl Tevis again brought us her incredibly well informed perspective about Iowa’s relaxing of child labor laws in her column Unfinished Business.

Here's the kicker: if a minor becomes ill, is injured, or killed, companies would be shielded from liability. (Exception: Only the highest standard, gross negligence or willful misconduct could be filed in civil court.) No workers compensation claims, either.

Dave Busiek on Media explains in how, because almost all of Iowa’s office holders are Republican, the news media only gets one perspective.

It’s understandable that when reporters look for credible sources to quote for reaction, they will naturally go to office holders. But when ALL the reaction is from one side, it leaves Iowans with the impression that the entire state is upset about the debt ceiling compromise, or that every Iowan thinks the Justice Department has unfairly targeted Trump.

And Wini’s Food Stories looked at the ever increasing tips we are prompted to give, not only at restaurants, but now almost everywhere we go.

A few weeks ago, I had a pleasant lunch on the patio of a sit-down restaurant. Food, service, ambiance—all good, if not exceptional. When the server came to run my credit card through the card reader, I was given the option to tip 20%, 25%, or 30%. This led me to wonder (as I have in similar situations recently): When, exactly, did 20% become the lowest suggested tip for table service?