I was just on Twitter, where someone pointed out that CNN had two different takes on Mt. Rushmore. Apparently, when President Obama visited it, they said the artwork of the monument was "majestic" and "quite a sight," but when President Trump visited, they pointed out that it included two slave owners. Of course, his point was that CNN is hypocritically changing its coverage based on whether or not they like the President. Setting aside how easy it would be to find similar examples in reverse from FOX, I'd like to make a different point. Both of those stories are true, and it represents America in a nutshell.
If you have never been to Mt. Rushmore, it is hard to express how impressive it is. When you learn how the faces were made using dynamite inserted into holes, drilled by men hanging from ropes, it is even more spectacular. Mt. Rushmore is also an image of four flawed human beings who led flawed administrations who were elected by flawed people built on land stolen from Native Americans. There's no use in arguing the point that two of these men were slaveholders because we know that they were, even if they were a bit conflicted about it. The other two men had complicated racial issues as well (Teddy Roosevelt's comments about Native Americans are cringe-worthy, and Lincoln cared more about keeping the country together than he cared about the slaves. Look farther in history, and you will find the same contradictions; we praise LBJ for signing the Civil Rights Act into law, but he regularly used the N-word and openly stated that he wouldn't allow women to be astronauts because then he would have to allow black men to be astronauts as well. We don't have a leader that hasn't made a problematic statement.
Why is this true? The country was founded by human beings. Our constitution was written by human beings. The judges who have interpreted our laws are human beings. And here's the thing with human beings. We are defined by two things, the image of God and the Fall. We will live with them both until Jesus returns. All humans, even the horrible ones, carry the image of their Creator. This is how we know that there is no such thing as an inferior race or a superior one. All members of all races are image-bearers. It's why I can't celebrate the execution of a person, even if I think it was just; I just can't be excited that an image-bearer is lost. Humans were also corrupted by the Fall. Adam and Eve's sin wasn't a victimless crime. From Eve's first bite of the fruit until now, the fall has caused depravity in all of us. No matter how nice a person is or what heroic things he or she may do, we are all sinners. All of the lies, racism, adultery, hate, and crime in the history of mankind are the result of the Fall, and none of us can escape that. It's why we need a savior. America reflects both greatness and sinfulness because it is a reflection of the humans that founded her and those that continue to form her.
This July 4th, we cannot recognize only one side of our nature. We cannot celebrate the genius of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration without also acknowledging his sin. We cannot celebrate the good the military has done in the world without also acknowledging horrors that have been committed by some of our men and women in uniform. We cannot sing how America is beautiful "from sea to shining sea" without recognizing that we fill this land because we broke promises to the Native Americans who lived here. This nation is neither all bad nor all good. Because it is filled with image-bearers who are corrupted by the Fall, it is a nation filled with messy contradiction. Knowing that doesn't make you un-American. There may be nothing more American than criticizing our leaders, given that this is what the Declaration was doing in the first place. Acknowledging the flaws in something we love doesn't mean we love it less. It makes our love real rather than blindly idealistic.
Is America great or is America seriously flawed? Yes.
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