As our nation prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, we have an opportunity not simply to celebrate our history, but to grow through it.
Thirty-one years ago, when I got sober, I was a young woman who appeared to have much of what mattered: a marriage, an education, and what many might have called a meaningful life. Yet I knew something essential was missing. I did not yet understand how to love deeply.
When I chose sobriety, my goal was clear: I wanted to become a loving woman.
That desire set me on a lifelong journey of facing my own history—the harms I had caused, the ways I had fallen short, and the apologies I needed to make not only with words, but through living amends. Over time, that journey required me to face my biases, assumptions, fears, and the gaps in my own understanding that had limited my compassion.
That personal work helped shape the vision that guides the Peace and Justice Institute: All People. All Voices. All Matter.
Democracy, too, asks something of us. It asks us to consider whether we can live in relationship with people whose experiences, beliefs, and values may differ from our own. It asks us to listen, to learn, to repair harm, and to keep choosing the common good.
America’s founding promise, that all people are created equal and possess inherent rights has always been aspirational. Our history includes extraordinary courage and creativity, but also enslavement, exclusion, violence, displacement, protest, and long struggles to extend dignity and participation to more people. To face that history honestly is not to reject our country. It is to love it enough to help it become fully what it has long claimed to be.
At PJI, we take the word all seriously. All does not mean that every idea is equally wise or that harmful behavior should be excused. It means that every human being has inherent worth. It means that democracy is strengthened when people are treated with dignity, when voices are heard, and when we choose curiosity over contempt.
This is not easy work. It never has been. No generation has fully realized the values it claims to hold. Each generation is given the opportunity and responsibility to move our country closer to its highest ideals.
Like sobriety, democracy is not a destination. It is a practice. It is a continuing invitation to mature, to expand our awareness, and to increase our capacity to love.
As we celebrate 250 years of the United States, may we honor both the promise and the unfinished work of this country. May we strengthen our relationships, hold the complexity of our differences, and continue building communities where every person thrives.
May we collectively create a world at peace where all people belong, and, in doing so, help strengthen the American vision of democracy.
Happy Birthday, USA.
Warmly,
Rachel and the PJI Team.
