What is the point of the 4th of July? I mean the real point, not the canned “to celebrate our independence and the birth of our country” answer. Because we all know that’s B.S., there’s not a whole lot to celebrate. In fact I think it’s rude to celebrate when we are in the middle of a war and occupation and losing young American soldiers every day.
But what about celebrating the land of democracy and freedom? Is that what the 4th of July is about?
This country ain’t exactly a shining example of democracy and freedom. 230 years after the fact and we still don’t have a democratic voting system working in Ohio. And our Constitutional freedoms are being erased bit by bit every day in the name of “National Security.” Thank you Patriot Act! Who needs privacy anyway? Here’s a list of my last 100 phone calls, last week’s bank transactions, and what I had for breakfast this morning.
We shouldn’t pretend we are actually uphelding the original principles this country was founded on. I do believe we fought for our independence so we wouldn’t be England’s colonial bitch anymore, and now we’re going around the world building our own colonies? But we don’t call it that anymore, we call it “regime change”, “fighting the war on terror”, “liberating those poor people who live in the desert and can’t vote.” Anything so long as you don’t call it “global domination!!!”
Many people will be looking at fireworks in the sky tonight or maybe tomorrow night. Of course they’ll play “God Bless the USA” somewhere in the middle of our beloved pyrotechnic-displays-of-patriotism. What do you think that means to the 2,535 American families who have lost somebody in this war? Do you think if you lost a son or daughter in Iraq and heard that song you’d say “aww, that’s sweet. Hey look, the fireworks are in the shape of a flag, neat.” Because I sure as hell wouldn’t. I used to get goosebumps when they’d play that song. Now I realize I was just being sold. People’s sons and daughters didn’t die for this, and they sure didn’t die so that patriotism could be exploited and sold off as another consumerist holiday. Perhaps I’m giving too much credit calling it patriotism. It’s way past that now, it’s well into nationalism and we know what happens next.
I know lots of brave people who have served this country in the past, both through the military and National Service, and I bet they don’t appreciate their country going to shit after all they’ve done. As an AmeriCorps Alumni who gave two years of service, I know I don’t.
I, personally, am boycotting the 4th of July altogether.
- Until every last soldier is home.
- Until we see an end to every war and every occupation this country is involved in, not just Iraq, not just Afghanistan.
- Until our government spends billions of dollars on children, education, health insurance, and renewable energy. Not war.
- Until Congress actually listens and represents us, not corporations.
- Until there is something to really be proud of.
If you want to be patriotic, impeach the man who believes he’s President, and God talks directly to him (yet always forgets to remind him of that “thou shalt not kill” thing.)
If you want to be patriotic, tell our Congress to go fight in this war since they’re the ones who refuse to grow a spine and stop it. If they refuse, they don’t deserve to represent us.
If you want to be patriotic, stand up for the truth. Put down your sparklers and your beer, put your fist in the air, think for yourself, and resist.
Say no to this occupation. That is patriotic.
July 5th Update: Looks like Howard Zinn and I are in total agreement on this one.
I love your spirit, and the emotion that you put into your postings. Anyways, I was thinking about the same thing a couple days before the 4th and was thinking about putting a similar post on my blog, but you beat me to it. I like the part about spending billions on our domestic issues instead of the war, and congress listening to corporations. It’s a shame that politicians are more worried about their campaign money and being elected or reelected then actually doing their job.
Thank you for this post. The mere fact that you, your idealism, and the thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of people like you exist and are able to express yourselves gives me faith in our future. Hopefully those of us that have given time serving our country to make it a better place can remain banded together in that idealism to break the cycle of cynicism that has gripped consecutive generations within our country.
It is this possibility of change and hope for a better future of greater understanding brought about by our work and effort that allowed me to celebrate the 4th of July. Perhaps it is my youthful naivete, but I still believe that we can make the world a better, more democratic, more peaceful, more socially responsible place. Our current path is not helping us achieve those ends and only by fully grasping the reins of leadership in the coming decades can we, the dedicated few, hope to produce profound changes within the American experience. And I believe it is possible living where we do.
There are my two cents and thank you again for this post. It made me think.
Thank YOU for such a kind response. I’m glad you take postings like this as encouraging and not disheartening. I think a lot of people view me as too cynical to function because I’m always pointing out what’s wrong. But I post the things I do because I believe people should know everything that’s going on and come to their own conclusions instead of having opinions spoon fed to them by Fox News or CNN.
An uncensored, investigative, and active press often means seeing more bad news, that’s just how it goes. Especially with this Administration and their hatred of transparency. People need to see what their government is up to, as depressing as it usually is. Ummm I forgot what my point was now…
“Only by fully grasping the reins of leadership in the coming decades can we, the dedicated few, hope to produce profound changes within the American experience.” –Wow. Can’t wait til you start running for office. :-)