Newsletter: It’s almost Fourth of July. How’s our democracy doing?

Good morning. I’m Paul Thornton, and it is Saturday, June 24, 2023. Let’s look at the week in Opinion.

As the Fourth of July approaches, and as we in Opinion ask readers what they will contemplate as the nation celebrates its birth (more on that in a bit), I am brought back to a tour I took of Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 2009. Near the end, the National Park Service ranger guiding us through the historic site did something I never expected from a uniformed federal officer: He recited unflattering truths about the two founding documents produced in that very building, the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

Holding up a copy of the Constitution, he declared that “this document” did nothing to address the nations of Indigenous people here prior to English settlement. Nor did it fulfill the ideals of equality or self-government for all articulated in the Declaration, a copy of which he held in his other hand. He referred to the slain American revolutionaries buried around Independence Hall and said true freedom depends on people’s willingness to carry it out as much as it does on the words written in our founding documents.

So now we ask you: What do the words declared by our founders almost 247 years ago mean to you? Do you believe we are meeting those aspirations to freedom and justice? What will you be celebrating this July 4?

These questions have spawned much debate since our nation’s founding. The United States was formed as an aspirational country built on the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the country has remained a beacon of freedom and opportunity for people around the world. But the nation has often failed to live up its ideals. The last several years in particular have challenged the notion of American exceptionalism — an insurrection after the 2020 presidential election, heightened mistrust of government and among ourselves, a reckoning with the lasting effects of slavery and racism, growing inequality and a contraction of individual rights. How we experience the independence declared on July 4, 1776, depends on factors beyond just being an American.

Send us your thoughts in a letter to the editor of no more than 200 words to letters@latimes.com; you can also use our online letter submission form. I look forward to reading your letters and publishing several of them on July 4.

The California sun finally emerged to greet the summer solstice. Don’t get used to it. To an inland Los Angeles County dweller like me, the persistence of June gloom into the summer is welcome news — it spares an early start of the oppressively hot July and August slog. But self-described “weather geek” Arnie Cooper is writing from Santa Barbara, where sunny skies and the adjacent cool Pacific waters typically mean pleasant summer temperatures. So the thick marine layer that chills Cooper and his fellow coastal denizens means free summer air conditioning to those of us too far inland to feel an onshore breeze.

What is the Southern Baptists’ problem with women? At the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention last week, delegates from churches in the Protestant denomination failed to reckon with the devastating 2022 report on sexual abuse by prominent figures within the group. But they came down hard on churches that ordain women as pastors, because evidently slippery slopes only concern Southern Baptist leaders when they lead to changes that might please liberals, writes Randall Balmer.

Is the Hunter Biden plea deal really a slap on the wrist? Not remotely. Former U.S. Atty. Harry Litman writes: “Hunter Biden’s tentative federal plea agreement is bound to displease partisans on both sides, which is one sign that it’s a fair and suitable disposition of the long-standing investigation of the president’s son.”

Los Angeles was once sold to the world as a paradise — now, it’s arguably better known for the housing crisis that spawns tent encampments. The contrast between the century-ago boosterism and today’s stark reality often leads visitors to judge Los Angeles more harshly than they might any other city facing similar challenges. Former L.A. Times reporter Larry Gordon examines the sources of the boosterism that saddled our city with great expectations.

Are book bans unconstitutional? They are certainly political. Editorial writer Minerva Canto sums up what the spate of censorship across the country is really all about: “Banning books is not just about removing certain reading material from school and library shelves, but about restricting ideas. Rarely do these conversations about restricting books include their educational or artistic benefits. It seems easier to remove books based on key words or one picture rather than debate their merits.”

More from this week in Opinion

From our columnists

• Jackie Calmes: Talk about “American carnage” — Walt Nauta is the latest casualty of Donald Trump’s malicious selfishness.
• Jonah Goldberg: Most Americans think life was better 50 years ago. That’s ridiculous.
• Robin Abcarian: Why Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential bid is the second coming of Donald Trump.

From the Op-Ed desk

• My father may be gone, but “our” radio is still going.
• AI-assisted writing is close to becoming as standard as spell check. Here’s the catch.
• Here’s what celebrations of Juneteenth shouldn’t be missing.

From the Times editorial board

• The L.A. Zoo’s plan to house mountain lions and grizzlies shouldn’t mean wrecking the view.
• The Save Our Gas Stoves Act? That’s GOP pro-fossil-fuel foolishness.
• Don’t stop composting. California can’t afford to abandon its methane-busting law now.

Letters to the editor

• Was the Dodger Stadium protest anti-gay backlash or legitimate religious grievance?
• Metro’s new Regional Connector is safe and clean. What about the rest of the system?
• Daniel Ellsberg was called a traitor in 1973. He died a hero in 2023.