Juneteenth (and holidays in general) Reblogged

Salvageable has written a post similar to what I was thinking about writing. Therefore, instead of reinventing the wheel, here is a link, Juneteenth (and holidays in general) – Salvageable (wordpress.com).

How is what Salvageable wrote different from what I was thinking about writing? Well, Salvageable is not unhappy with a paid day off in June. He is just dubious about paid days off. So, he uses this dubious celebration to launch a generalized complaint.

I approve of special days set aside for the various cultures and ethnic groups present in the United States. I delight in noting the Chinese New Year, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, and Octoberfest, along with Juneteenth. These days should be celebrations, commemorations of their various cultures, and open to all Americans to join the celebration. I see no reason any of them should be paid days off from work. These days are opportunities for schools, libraries, and other cultural centers to celebrate America’s cultural diversity and to remind all of us of what makes each culture special. We have seen from Memorial Day and Labor Day what happens to a federal holiday. People are paid to stay home from work. They gather for cookouts and other festive events. They travel to parks and beaches and other recreational spots. Meanwhile, hospitals remain open. Police officers and fire fighters remain on call. Retail outlets—especially fast food restaurants—serve more customers than usual, requiring them to schedule more of their employees than usual. That shift is especially ironic on Labor Day.

Juneteenth (and holidays in general) – Salvageable (wordpress.com)

I don’t necessarily disagree with any of that. However, I do have a gripe with Juneteenth. The only pressing need for it was to create yet another distraction from the incompetence and graft that epitomizes the Biden administration. There was no hew and cry for this holiday. I lived in Texas in the 1980’s, where this holiday supposedly started, for four years. The locals in the Houston area never even talked about Juneteenth. At best Democrats just started this holiday to pander to blacks. It is just another cheap and worthless appeal to pride. Now blacks supposedly have two holidays. Whoopee!

There actually was a hew and cry for Martin Luther King Day, that other day the bigots want us to celebrate blackness and the victimization of blacks. However, Martin Luther King day, while some may want to think it an occasion to celebrate blackness, is not a black holiday. It is a day to celebrate the sincere belief of a preacher of the Word.

Galatians 3:26-29 New American Standard Bible

26 For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

When we celebrate Martin Luther King day, we honor the fact that God created all men and women as His children. We celebrate the fact that King wanted his children to be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.

Think about the Declaration of Independence. Think about how the men who wrote it defined the purpose of government.

Why did Americans fight each other in a great, bloody civil war? Supposedly, slavery divided our people. So, hundreds of thousands fought and died, but as Salvageable observed in his post the Civil War did not end slavery. Officially, slavery did not end until the ratification of the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution.

What was the problem? Even after over 600,000 died in that bloody war, the American legal system did not treat blacks as equals before the law. That day did not come until the Civil Movement movement of the 1960’s. Activists, using civil disobedience to appeal to the consciences of racists, “fought” for the civil rights of blacks as their fellow citizens. Until, enough people become ashamed of and repent of their racism — their foolish pride in their own race — racism cannot be conquered.

So, should we celebrate Juneteenth? It actually makes more sense to celebrate the ratification of the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution.

AMENDMENT XIII

Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.

Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13th amendment.

Section 1.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Slavery is not about race. Race is just an excuse to hate and exercise power over other people, to enslave them. Given that slavery has been a scourge of human kind for millennia, it is remarkable we don’t celebrate the ratification of the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution