what does the 4th of july mean to me?
/We remember the birth of a nation. The birth of an idea. The idea a nation could be founded on equality, freedom, and reason. On July 4, 1776 a bunch of traitors (I mean
patriots
) signed the Declaration of Independence.
I know, you think I hate America or I want to fly around the world apologizing for our wars blah blah blah... No, I don't think "Merica" is a horrible place. I think that we have been fooling ourselves when it comes to "American Exceptionalism". We rank
;
; the United States is
even though we are the 6th
nation based on GDP per capita. The backbone of our economy was once the auto industry. It has made improvements in the last three or four years. But I should note that my Republican grand parents (who are incredibly conservative) drive a Japanese vehicle and I drive a Korean one. But at least we are
at something.
But, yet I feel conflicted when it comes to Patriotism. I understand owning a sense of pride when thinking about where you come from. The Olympics start in a couple of weeks and I'll root for the basketball team and our swimmers and the rest of
our team
. I enjoy watching the track and field events. Really though, I just want to see excellence. If someone from the USA wins the 100M by breaking Usain Bolt's World Record that would be AMAZING. But, yet I feel I am equally a citizen of the United States of America as I am a citizen of the world. So I would not feel any different if Usain Bolt broke his own record while slowing down for the final steps they way he did in Beijing.
We live in an era where we forget why we celebrate the 4th of July. I once heard someone I know refer to it as the day with the fireworks and that is all this person knew about Independence Day. We live in a politically charged climate where each side uses words of the founding fathers to prove their point of view is correct. I like using quotes just like anyone else. But does it really matter what some people 236 years ago thought? We have put these mortals onto a pedestal as though their words are the gospel. Let us not forget many of the founders of this nation owned slaves. Think about how grotesque it is, to own another human being. Listening to the
news
we constantly hear about how "the founding fathers are rolling in their graves" ad nauseum etc etc. If I had one wish I would seriously like to raise the founding fathers from the dead (not zombies or anything scary) and ask them what they really meant regarding the church and the constitution; their thoughts on social security and single payer health care. We are stuck as a society considering what people that died 200 years ago would think about a topic or question that did not even exist at that time. It is as though that we attempt to validate our opinions by inferring what Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, or Thomas Paine (T-Paine) would say about an issue.
Freedom has become a punchline when we debate Healthcare, War, and Rhetoric. Yes, we have reached the point in our society where we have to actually debate rhetoric. One
can be convicted of terrorism while another is just a
. It seems that even being patriotic is a political position. Nationalism, Patriotism, Jingoism... its all for the birds. Yes, I am a citizen of the United States of America. But I am also a citizen of the World.
236 years ago a group of [white] men sat around birthed a new nation. One that was not affiliated with a church (no matter what your Christian friends would like you to believe), a nation that was not controlled by a Monarchy or an Oligarchy. A nation that outlawed titles of nobility so that all men (and in the future women) could have an opportunity to succeed. But these ideas, have become myths. We no longer have a meritocracy. Sure, we can all point to a few individuals that broke the odds and became successful. But those people have become the exception to the rule.
We have a society where money equals speech. Logically, some individuals are born millionaires while others are born poor. Does that mean the rich have more freedom than my children? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Noble titles are not used but rather we have a class system in which there are the wealthy; those that think they are part of the near wealthy; and the poor. America has de facto nobility which is cloaked in the aire of opportunity. Breads and Circuses reign supreme to silence our minds. It is easy to eat a hamburger and drink a beer today while forgetting that we possess a false hope. One that makes us believe we are a lucky break away from joining the elite.
So what does the 4th of July mean to me? We have ruined an ideal of freedom with the perils of money. The summer holiday equates to sales on mattresses and colorful explosions. We can think about the soldiers that have lost their lives and limbs fighting for our ______. We can think about the Revolutionary War. But, why not think about what you can do for your fellow citizen. Whether he or she lives in Indiana or India; Arizona or Iraq; Wisconsin or Germany; or anyplace on this planet. Because America is not a country it is an idea. It is an idea that has been mangled; it has been kicked around and laughed at but it is not dead. The idea is not some myth about striking it rich; the idea of America is the ability to think and say what you feel. The idea of America is no child should be hungry and everyone has a chance to be educated and enlightened.
Possibly one day we can reach that apex of excellence or at least strive for what made us great... whatever that is/was for you.
