It is the 4th of July.
The country is as shut down as it gets these days, sans pandemic, to celebrate the 245th Anniversary of declaring our independence.
There are again parades. There will be fireworks both on large municipal scale and from our neighbors on a small, annoying to some, scale. There will be specials on PBS from Washington celebrating the day. For certain, TCM will air the classic story of George M. Cohan, Yankee Doodle Dandy starring James Cagney. People will cookout, mostly hot dogs and hamburgers.
People, breaking out of the pandemic, have travelled in droves this weeken. The airports are way busier than last year as are the number of people taking long car trips. Are they as busy as 2019? I haven’t seen any statistics in that regard.
What I did read yesterday, was the arrest of 11 people in Massachusetts. These folks were part of a group, The Rise of the Moors, that were en route from Rhode Island to Maine to “train.” They ran out of gas. (Who runs out of gas?) They were seen standing around their cars on the shoulder of I-95 north of Boston and they were heavily armed. They were toting what the press was reporting as long guns and pistols. I am assuming that people in cars passing by were distressed by this and alerted the authorities who responded.
The Moors did not confront the police but did inform them that they did not recognize the laws or authority of the United States. They claimed to be the aboriginal people of this land and followed their own code and moral compass. The police took a different view and imposed the authority of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the first United States, and arrested them.
I am certain many people were shaking their heads when hearing about this event. I certainly was. I am sure the majority of us shaking their heads were concerned about the future of our country with splinter groups both right and left, revolutionary and reactionary, rising as it were and getting airtime in both the mainstream media and more so in their own social media outlets.
Independence Day, July 4th, is about celebrating our independence and the freedoms on which this nation was founded. These freedoms include those in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They include free speech, the right to bear arms, the freedom to worship as we see fit, and to pursue our own interests freely.
At the founding of the country, these rights and freedoms were not equally and fairly granted everyone. Blacks, Native Americans, and women were not really included. Since then, we have come to include those that were originally left out. It has been a struggle and it is a struggle still. It is the responsibility of each generation to continue the process started 245 years ago. We need to debate. We need to enact laws. We need to enforce laws both new and existing. It is not easy. Wonderful and horrible things have happened along this journey.
If we enjoy and value these freedoms, we have to keep defending them, improving them, and ensure that they are applied as evenly and fairly as possible. This is a never-ending process that requires more of that Pioneer or American Spirit that has been supplanted by belief that the American Dream is an entitlement.
When I picked up today’s New York Times, I found three articles collectively titled as The Great American Languishing. The subtitle sums up some of what I am trying to say here:
The United States used to be a country of dramatic invention and dynamic change. Today our politics are sclerotic, our civic culture is in crisis, and our dreams are small. What happened?
Sure, I am in interested in what happened but more importantly is how do we rise above it and revitalize and redefine that Pioneer or American Spirit for this modern era. I believe we have to do this and also that we can.
Happy 4th of July to one and all.
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