A Eulogy Shared on Constitution Day

 

Beloveds, I share with you this afternoon, Constitution Day, a eulogy for our democratic republic and for many of the rights and freedoms that have been upheld by our constitution through the ages.  

We are gathered here today not to mourn in silence, but to speak—because these losses deserve more than quiet grieving. They deserve defiance. They deserve our voices, raised in protest against the betrayal by those who support a regime that is determined to kill and bury the values that have really make our nation great for all and replace these with policies that diminish our very humanity. 

Our republic was based on the ideals of representation, accountability, and the notion that power must serve the people, not subjugate them. She was never perfect. From her birth, America bore the scars of contradiction—freedom proclaimed while people remained in chains. But still, she grew. She learned to walk when women marched for the vote, to speak when civil rights leaders refused to be silent, to breathe more fully when the people demanded more from those in power.

But in recent years, we have seen her bruised, battered, and beaten—not by foreign foes, but by the very hands sworn to uphold her. Especially under the policies and decisions of the current president and his minions, the America we know and love has suffered many blows to her integrity:

Among the losses we mourn are –

Jobs – many in our own community slashed down with the machetes from DOGE or lost at our port with the uncertainty of world trade with see-sawing policies on Tariffs.

Services and funds for the most vulnerable among us – due to the closing and defunding of important programs.

Due process – especially for our immigrants who are now removed with no due process and places in concentration camps – sometimes in foreign lands.

Freedom of Speech at our Universities and beyond.

The teaching of TRUTH – with the banning of books and materials that lift up the true history that those who want us to return to an America dominated by patriarchy and white supremacy are trying to erase. 

LGBTQ + rights that we finally were seeing come to light!

Easy Access to Vote for All Citizens – and a loss of power through increased gerrymandering

A Good education for all – never really achieved but now hindered more through the dismantling of the Department of Education and it’s related federal mandates and funding.

We mourn the loss of Healthcare since someone is now in charge who doesn’t believe in science. And especially the loss of reproductive health care and bodily autonomy – with horrible stories of the consequences of these actions that make us shudder.

We mourn the loss of A Sustainable Environment – with this administration’s return to misguided policies that hasten Climate Change – even removing standards for clean air and water.

But let us be clear: though we gather in mourning, we do not come in surrender.

For every protester in the street, our republic breathes again.
For every vote cast against injustice, she stirs in her grave.
And for every truth spoken in the face of lies, she rises.

So today, we weep. But tomorrow -- we continue to organize. We resist. We rebuild.  We Rise, renewed, in protest and in power. We RISE!