The comment thread under some post at Free Republic the other day included several proclamations that those commenting would not be celebrating Independence Day this year. Their hearts weren't in it; it would be pointless given the unrecognizability of this country at present; it would be an empty gesture that could be coopted by the enemy.
I hadn't stopped to think about it for myself. Since I put that holiday on the same plane of sacredness with Christmas, Good Friday, Easter and Thanksgiving, it's pretty much hardwired into me.
But now I am thinking about it. What is the meaningful way to - let's say commemorate; celebrate probably doesn't fit this year - acknowledge the day's special nature? It's an important question. How to do the flags, patriotic music, classic American summer food, fireworks (which are actually out of the question this year, given the drought and heat wave) and reflective pronouncements in such a way that takes into account the deeply damaged and - yes, let's use the Most Equal Comrade's term here - transformed country in which we presently live? Rah-rah Sgt.-York/ Yankee-Doodle-Dandy/Judy- and-and-Mickey-Strike-Up-the-Band boosterism is no weapon at all (as is also the case with some kind of Sean Hannity-type mullet-fest; thankfully he has let his yee-haw concert series run its course) in the struggle to re-establish the actual nation founded in 1776.
I think the first step is to be up-front about our level of alarm - in any greetings we post on Facebook, in any public speaking we do, in any conversations around the grill, picnic table or pool. Speak plainly of the defilement. This is not the time for "it's-still-a-great-country" rhetoric. For God's sake, the Pentagon now celebrates Transgendered Month. Per the post below, NASCAR has inked a deal with the EPA - as wicked an agency as any to be found in North Korea or Cuba - to go "green." The government can now tax any kind of inactivity that a legislative majority deems taxable. Russia, China and Iran treat us with contempt. One seventh of our population is on food stamps.
What this leads to is a focus like never before on our Founders and our founding documents. This may actually be an opportune moment for reaching those who can be reached in order to impart a sense of the uniqueness - indeed, miraculousness - of the circumstances of this nation's birth. To state once again the commonly made point about it, no country before in human history had been founded on the idea that human beings were naturally free, designed by God to so live. Expediency, pragmatism, and focus on the particulars of contemporary economic or foreign-policy issues were not the central concern of those who crafted the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist, or the Constitution. There eye was on the long term - indeed, on matters eternal.
Be completely candid about the element of mourning and the element of fury in your celebration this year. When challenged by those who think developments of the last three years - indeed, the last eighty years - have refined and improved a nation commonly referred to as the United States of America (presumably because we are now more "fair" or "compassionate"), sharply disagree. Look the person so asserting in the eye, stand your ground and be a worthy patriot. The exchange may not end pleasantly. On the other hand, the United States of America is not ending pleasantly, and no one is doing enough to reverse that.
No comments:
Post a Comment