Julie recently wrote about Independence Day. I'll quote my favorite passage below, although you really should go read the whole thing.
"As I watch the parade each year, I am also grateful for our country. I know that we are who we are because of the land where we live. I know this in a personal sense, as a mother of children who have a rich heritage, as a wife happy her husband's family made it here, as a woman enjoying the opportunities and freedom she would not have in other nations. And I also know this in a larger sense, for the island, for this piece of land in the Pacific Ocean with its tragic past and transforming present. We are who we are because of the land where we live."
Julie Leung, Why I like the Fourth of July
That phrase --- "tragic past and transforming present" is a really wonderful expression. Reading that phrase out loud helps quiet my temporary discomfort and malcontentedness with life, the universe and everything. It's the kind of phrase that actually renews hope and faith in me, especially in the light of the recent tragedy in London.
