Fredrick Douglas Fourth of July Speech
The Ways the Speech Resonate
There are numerous aspects to which the speech resonates with the contemporary world. The founding fathers of the nation perpetuated for the creation of a just society, one which respected, valued, and honored all men equally. Not a country where slavery was bound to be the cornerstone of national building. The contemporary society continues to advance the minority communities oppression and living in fear of poverty, use of excessive force, and discrimination (Douglass, 1852). This is a suppression and erosion of the original dream for the nation. As well, the infallibility nature of the government through unjust, oppressive, and unreasonable treatment of the minority societies continues to advance the weak aspect of the leaders and lack of hope in the country. This marks an outright betrayal to our forefathers dreams and aspirations for the nation. At all times, the love for the country should always surpass personal interests.
Tensions in the Enlightenment Project
The pursuit of political freedom and natural justice principles from generation to generation has been questioned in efforts to achieve the best progress. In the building of the nation, Douglass (1852) emphasizes on the value for every generation doing its work at the time. This is based on the fact that every human being must live and die after their time is done on this world. As a result, it is a wakeup call for every man to focus on doing their best for the betterment of the society impacting to setting a brighter future for the next generations. The tensions in the enlightenment project are intractable if only they followed the outlined principles and values set by the founding fathers of the nation. That is, the pursuit of “justice, liberty, and humanity; and not slavery and oppression” (Douglass, 1852).
George Floyd Protests
The protests mark the epitome of the escalation of sentiments of racism and oppression to the Black community. The fear of victimization, discrimination, and oppression in the society is advancement of the course of injustices and unfair treatment to a people that has endure a lot of pain and subjection to bad treatment in their own nation (Douglass, 1852). After years of perceived democratic developments, the Floyd protests exposes the erosion of the society based on old sentiments of white superiority and supremacy. This is a replication of the tyranny that has been found to exist in societies such as Russia and Austria. This marks the failure of democratic institutions, instead a manifestation of the “consent to the mere tools and bodyguards of the tyrants of Virginia and Carolina” (Douglass, 1852). This presents the sham in the republicanism used to build the nation, pretense of humanity, and a lie in the Christianity values purported to be the anchor of the nation. Thus, shows the prolonged failure and deviation from the original values and principles set by the founding fathers of the nation.
Reference
Douglass, F. (July 5, 1852). The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro Abridged. Vermont Humanities Council. Retrieved from: https://www.vermonthumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Douglass5JulySpeechMedium.pdf [Accessed Online: June 30, 2020].