How to keep talking even after you die
Independence is more than the freedom to buy a bigger television
Those who turned a conversation about independent national rule into a document that was then signed and sent—those people are long dead. Yet these 238 years later we continue to discuss what they did, what they signed, and what they paid for their declaration of independence.
Our declaration of independence.
Who doesn’t want independence?
The conversation they began is a very human conversation and so continues today, not just in the U.S., but around the world. Blood, tears, death and life show up wherever the conversation pops.
Our part of the conversation mixes in economics and justice and race and work and a lot of big dreams for our kids. Sometimes our nationalism tells our faith what to do. And sometimes our faith dresses in flags for coercive ends. And sometimes faith and citizenry collaborate in productive ways.
This declaration of independence has spurred a very long conversation and we each participate in our own way. Sometimes I wonder if our independence is only about getting bigger televisions. My hope is that we will come to increasingly relish our freedom. I also hope we’ll pay enough attention to add useful bits to the conversation, communication bits that will continue long after we’re gone.
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Image credit: Kirk Livingston
conversation is an engine 
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