I was doing my best to ignore all the Trump hype about America’s 250th anniversary. His celebration isn’t mine. So, I figured I would sit this one out and pretend it wasn’t happening. The arrival of a Special Issue of Sojourners magazine gave me a different and healthier way to approach this important landmark. Today’s post reflects on the 250th and possible responses.

The front cover of the Sojourners issue summarizes the perspective in three words: AMERICA ISN’T EXCEPTIONAL, with a tiny American flag under the words. Now that got my attention.

For years, I cringed when elected officials talked about how smart, capable, and extraordinary the U.S. is. 

Sadly, our current national policies are driven by that philosophy. It is fear-based and driven by greed and the need to control. As much as many of us, particularly those of us born white, have benefited from this philosophy, it is hard to reconcile with the simple proposition: “love your neighbor.”

Sojourners Editor in Chief Betsy Shirley frames the issue by speaking truth to power, challenging President Trump’s assertion that this occasion commemorates “two-and-a-half centuries of liberty and triumph, progress and freedom.” Referring to America as “the most incredible and exceptional nation ever to exist on the face of the earth,” Trump says we should pray, read the Bible, and “rededicate ourselves as One Nation under God.”

Shirley reminds readers about the book of Amos in the Old Testament and summarizes it simply: God hates bad parties. Recalling how Amos took issue with showy religious festivals centuries ago, God says: “I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies” (5:21).

Sojourners’ executive director Adam Russell Taylor continues the discussion in his article The Gift We Could Give Our Flawed Country. Acknowledging the need to resist “the extremes of either hubris and triumphalism or apathy and self-loathing,” Taylor advocates that we each commit ourselves to a “year of civic renewal.”

What an obvious response. Don’t give up. Don’t collude with untrue assertions of what America is. Get involved in working for what it can be. Taylor paints a picture of civic renewal as something beyond voting. For him it includes “the norms, practices, and actions that we can take every day to solve problems and advance the common good.”

And he reminds us that renewal and engagement begin locally. What’s ours to do in our home community? And in state and national efforts to restore humane leadership that works for care and justice for all?

Many of us are involved each week in civic engagement in different forms. Here are some examples from my experience and that of friends:

• My cousin moved a year ago from Connecticut to Durham, NC, and immediately got involved in efforts to ensure every vote counts and to help families threatened by ICE get their children to school safely.
• Another friend is part of a local group that uses sidewalk art, peaceful demonstrations, and social media to expand awareness of government policies and policy makers that negatively impact the community and its commitment to justice for all.
• A Quaker friend is part of her Friends Meeting’s Reparations Working Group, which has conducted study groups, participated in a Freedom March reenactment, and collaborated with a nearby African-American church to offer restorative circles that increase awareness and healing of race-based harms.
• My involvement with our local Reparations Commission and a monthly Racial Justice Conversation keeps me learning and working for racial justice.

There are many organizations and online resources that offer simple ways to get involved and the orientation needed to do so with confidence. Among them are:

• Protect Democracy — Works to defend democratic institutions, fair elections, and the rule of law and May Day Strong, a coalition of local groups preparing for potential election interference.

• Southern Poverty Law Center — Works on voting rights, racial justice, combating hate groups, and civic participation.

• Indivisible — A nationwide movement of local efforts to stop the rise of authoritarianism and strengthen democracy.

• Braver Angels — A movement to reduce toxic politics and bridge the partisan divide.

The great news about America is that throughout our history, people have organized to advance democracy, equity, and justice in the face of horrific odds. Our nation’s 250th anniversary is an invitation for all of us to double down on working for the kind of nation our ideals espouse and our “better angels” seek.