Thread by @CatholicDems

This Fourth of July, do make sure to read the Declaration of Independence: archives.gov/founding-docs/…

But do also make sure to read Frederick Douglass' 1852 speech: "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?": pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4…

Both are important documents regarding how we view freedom and equality in our society, both in terms of the ideals we wish to live up to and the ways we fall disastrously short on those ideals.

The thing is, liberal movements tend to succeed when they are placed in the continuum of American culture and society, not when they assert they're independent of it. Some progressives often make mistake of thinking if they reject the American experiment entirely, they'll win.

And that's not been our history. One thing that Pres. Obama was brilliant at was saying that liberal movements were as American as apple pie, not that they were some alien forces seeking to change the American people.

So we can both celebrate the Fourth of July AND Juneteenth. We can and should read BOTH the Declaration of Independence AND Frederick Douglass on this day. We can highlight Jefferson AND MLK, Jr. It's how we'll see progress. It's the only way we've ever seen progress.