I love my country- I really do. I am incredibly fortunate to have been born in a country that has flourished and changed in the ways that America has. Had I, as a little handed girl, been born in many countries around the world, I would have probably been discarded and left to die. But I was born here- in America, so I have been able to flourish- to go to school even though I, by all accounts, cannot afford to. I have been allowed to vote, and even if our political process is messed up and convoluted, I am allowed to participate in some small way.
That being said, the 4th of July has always had some mixed feelings for me. I think that the world we live in today has too many lines; too many divisions. Part of this is the mindless jingoism that national pride promotes and enables. The things that make America great are wonderful- but this country has some serious problems as well- and stuffing yourself silly at a cookout while you get plastered doesn't help anything. In fact, I would argue that the behavior that is promoted on the fourth of July is part of the problem.
If all the people who got wasted on the fourth of July would vote (and be informed when they vote) perhaps I could get behind the birthday celebrations of my country- but alas, that is not the case. Instead we promote mindless jingoism. Instead we drunk in our star-spankled bikinis and declare that 'America is the best'. The truth is, we aren't the best anymore. Our education system is falling apart, jobs are leaving this country, corporations rule the land, some of the highest mortality rates in the developed world are right here, and the rich get richer while the poor seep more desperately into poverty. How are we the best? We are free you say? Are we really? And even if we are (which I have my doubts) many countries around the globe enjoy the same freedoms we do.
So I ask again, in what way are we the best?
The world would be better off without that kind of celebration, don't you think?
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