Late August of a beautiful summer

The luscious remainder of August and of summer is vanishing. These are the last days of the year to jump in the river, make jam, plant fall garden greens, wake to cool, quiet mornings and breezy, open windows at night. Entiat summers are heartbreakingly beautiful. Our pleasant days melt the heart in this idyllic valley as one day drifts into another.

At the same time, we are dealing with uncertainty regarding security and freedom, ongoing wars without an end in sight, deportations, and the threat of deportations affecting our friends and families. We are observing funding cuts and the discontinuation of support for vital institutions, along with a disregard for science, the arts, and an honest portrayal of our country's history. Our attention is manipulated, and our understanding of current events is influenced by the media we consume. There is a decline in respect for truth, and lawlessness is evident at the highest levels.

There is an urgent need to speak and act against threats to democracy and to advocate for reason and compassion, and every day we must find ways to do so.

This compact, pocket-sized book, titled My Land of Liberty, is one of the books in the "Resource Room" at the Albert Long Museum. Published in 1941, before the United States entered World War II, its purpose was to promote patriotism and support the fight against Nazism and fascism, which the U.S. would soon join. It contains numerous quotes from the Constitution's authors. The primary aim was to foster patriotism and uphold the ideals for which the U.S. was about to fight. Such books were commonly distributed in schools and community organizations to instill national pride, civic responsibility, and an understanding of American values and freedoms. The first subject heading is "America's Four Freedoms," referring to Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to Congress on January 6, 1941.

"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want--which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants-everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor--anywhere in the world.

That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.

To that new order we oppose the greater conception--the moral order. A good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear.

Since the beginning of our American history, we have been engaged in change -- in a perpetual peaceful revolution -- a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly adjusting itself to changing conditions--without the concentration camp or the quick-lime in the ditch. The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.

This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women; and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose. To that high concept there can be no end save victory."

It truly has been such a wonderful summer, and we are so very grateful for the many people who visit the museum and support the ECHS. We are so very grateful to those who share their time, talent, wisdom and stories to help us each to be better humans.

Please enjoy this small gallery of photos of summer 2025 at the Albert Long Museum. We look forward to two more open Saturdays, on August 23 and 30. We will also be open on Saturday, September 13 for the Art in the Park day.

Our open hours on those dates is 10 AM - 3 PM.