In the war for the holidays, Juneteenth has emerged as a DEI alternative to classic American summer holidays like Independence Day and Memorial Day. But what does the holiday actually mean? Is the Left accidentally celebrating traditional American values?
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On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger, who had recently taken command of federal troops in Galveston, Texas, issued General Order No. 3, informing the residents of the former Confederate state that slavery had ended. In the years that followed, some local Black communities would celebrate “Juneteenth” in honor of slavery’s end.
The holiday might have remained a minor and largely localized affair, if not for the Black Lives Matter movement and the George Floyd riots. The early 2020s revived some old demons. We were told the United States must live in perpetual guilt for racist sins committed before any living American was born. In an effort to show solidarity with the agitators, Joe Biden (or possibly his autopen) made Juneteenth a federal holiday on June 17, 2021.
If the goal of this holiday was to celebrate America’s accomplishment of ending slavery, then that might have been a praiseworthy goal. But that was not the intention. The goal was to awaken old guilts. The goal was to insult white Americans, especially white Christian Americans, and even more especially white Christian male Americans, and above all those white Christian male Americans with guns!
But what is the actual story of Juneteenth? Remember, June 19 was the day that an American military officer informed slaves in Texas that they were freed. This tells us two things.
One, the slaves were freed. Past tense. Slavery is not legal in this country and hasn’t been since the 19th Century. It’s a sin of the past, one that no longer needs to haunt consciences of people who didn’t exist when slavery was legal.
Two, the slaves were freed. Passive voice. They didn’t free themselves. Someone else freed them. And who was it? It was white Americans. More specifically, white Christian Americans. Even more specifically, white Christian male Americans. Let me be even more specific: the slaves were freed by white Christian male Americans with guns.
So, yes, let’s celebrate Juneteenth, the day that white Americans, acting upon their Christian values, used firearms and masculine courage to free the slaves.
Happy Juneteenth everyone!
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