In recent weeks, the people of Minneapolis have shown us what courage looks like. They set aside fears for their own safety and took to the streets to exercise their rights to peaceful protest and support their neighbors – even when their neighbors, Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed in broad daylight by federal agents. Residents of Los Angeles, Chicago and, now in our own backyard, Lewiston, Maine, have been just as brave in the face of federal actions.

In this 250th year of our nation, we should be uniting in celebration of this remarkable human achievement rooted in the self-evident truths “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These are the principles that allow communities to thrive, businesses to prosper and our nation to lead. But instead of celebrating them, we have been rocked by government violence brought upon those freely assembling to protest. And we have shuddered at the impunity of our leaders’ actions.

Of course, we can choose to look away. We can immerse ourselves in the normalcy of our lives, and pretend people in another American city are not fearful for their own safety and to live their lives. And we can hope that such things won’t come to our own neighborhoods.

But the reality is that these are the times we are living in and looking away is not an option. And, as the people of Minneapolis are reminding us, when the challenges come, we can’t just wait and hope for someone else to save us. It is up to each of us to stand by our neighbors, to protect what we have built as a nation, and to keep making it better for generations to come.

That is why, at the Barr Foundation, we stand with the courageous people of Minneapolis and beyond, defending the freedoms we hold dear. We stand with institutions and elected officials across the ideological spectrum defending and upholding the rule of law. And we stand with our fellow charitable foundations supporting the community leaders working day in and day out to care for our neighbors and to help communities thrive – because that is our part in helping the United States live up to its founding promise.

The journey to ensure these freedoms are enjoyed by all people within our borders has been slow and non-linear, and at times painful. We have made so much progress over these two and a half centuries. But few of us would claim the work is done.

While immigration enforcement has been the catalyst for the collective action in these cities, people are standing up for more than immigrants. They have stood – and died – for their neighbors, and for the rights and freedoms enshrined in our Constitution. Through their courage, they are challenging us to stand with them to show that the great American experiment must not fail.

Bostonians take pride in our city as the Birthplace of America and for how those who came before us stood up for their neighbors to assert their freedoms. In every generation, and at each step along the way since then, people of good faith proved that progress demands we work together, support each other, and answer the call to something greater than ourselves.

That call has come again and we must answer.