Hooray for Hypocrisy!

This week we read a speech delivered by Frederick Douglass at the celebration of the 76th anniversary of the Fourth of July. Douglass, unusually for his time, was greatly respected and honored former slave. As demonstrated in "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?," Douglass was a strong believer in liberalism and in the liberal and democratic principles the United States was founded on.

Douglass expresses his beliefs as clearly as possible in the text of his speech. He repeatedly attests to a love and respect for the founders of the nation, saying "they loved their country better than their own private interests; and, though this not the highest form of human excellence, all will concede that it is a rare virtue, and that when it is exhibited, it ought to command respect." 

In spite of - or perhaps because of - this love, Douglass insists on sharing wit the audience the hypocrisy of their celebration. While they enjoy the freedoms and luxuries bequeathed by their forefathers, American citizens were displaying the same tyranny toward slaves that England displayed toward Americans: "You boast of your love of liberty, your superior civilization, and your pure Christianity, while the whole political power of the nation [...] is solemnly pledged to support and perpetuate the enslavement of three millions of your country men."

Douglass uses the sparks of the Revolution as a parallel to the cruelty of slavery. Douglass refreshes the memory of an imperialist ruler that handed down rulings and laws found to be oppressive and unreasonable. Douglass describes the actions of the patriots in terms that would be equally adequate for abolitionists: "to pronounce against England, and in favor of the cause of the colonies, tried men's souls. They who did so were accounted in their day, plotters of mischief, agitators and rebels, dangerous men." Douglass further notes that actions American citizens respected in their fathers were reviled in their contemporaries.

When the patriots felt that England gone too far, done too much wrong against their brethren, they chose to rebel and declare their independence. They were ultimately successful, creating a new nation of freedom and hope, a nation where the government was accountable to the people. As Douglass states, these "blessings, in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common." The American people turned their back on the principles of the Declaration, turned a blind eye to the suffering of others.

Douglass is realistic, but ultimately hopeful for the future of the nation. He believed that the nation's youth kept it from being too set in its ways, and eventually would overcome their hypocrisy.

Douglass, in terms of slavery, and to some extent racism, was right. The nation has tried to learn from its mistakes, but it has not always been successful. Douglass would not doubt be horrified by the liberties the American government has taken with freedom, after finally ensuring the rights of all. We can only hope we're still young enough to change.