Guno צְבִי
We fight, We win, Am Yisrael Chai
The unofficial opening of the American sesquicentennial on the National Mall started with a prayer at sunrise.
This year's celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence have underscored the history and resilience of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. But they also have spotlighted today's divides over issues as large as the appropriate role of religion in politics and as particular of the proper color of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The festival, dominated by Christian voices, delighted the thousands of people who attended on a balmy Sunday, pushing strollers and carrying blankets to spread on the grassy expanse. For some other Americans, though, it failed to reflect the nation's religious diversity, and many historians said it misrepresented the role of Christianity in the republic's founding.
"This outrageous event makes a mockery of a core constitutional tenet of American life, the separation of church and state, essentially promoting a particularly flavor of white evangelical protestantism as state-sponsored religion,"
This year's celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence have underscored the history and resilience of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. But they also have spotlighted today's divides over issues as large as the appropriate role of religion in politics and as particular of the proper color of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The festival, dominated by Christian voices, delighted the thousands of people who attended on a balmy Sunday, pushing strollers and carrying blankets to spread on the grassy expanse. For some other Americans, though, it failed to reflect the nation's religious diversity, and many historians said it misrepresented the role of Christianity in the republic's founding.
"This outrageous event makes a mockery of a core constitutional tenet of American life, the separation of church and state, essentially promoting a particularly flavor of white evangelical protestantism as state-sponsored religion,"
Cue the fireworks: America's 250th opens with prayer and a fight
The sesquicentennial of the Declaration of Independence is underscoring not only the nation's history but also its current divisions.
www.usatoday.com
