I know that many other significant days in history have been overlooked in this brief survey. Every day of the year marks some anniversary. Above, the few coincidences, some more purposeful than others, have been noted.
On July 4, then, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, itself contradictory and discriminatory, as I have noted before, where a few paragraphs down from the phrase that "all [property-holding white] men are created equal" comes a reference to Native Americans as "savages."
When will we get beyond the racism and sexism inherent in the Declaration?
Never mind for now; admire the peaceful application of lots of gunpowder this evening and celebrate the good. Some of us don't have that option but are instead dying from bad uses of gunpowder and other WMD all over the world--soldiers, rebels, and civilians.
Those of us who are blessed, celebrate this fact even as you realize we're celebrating the culmination of lots of hard work and bloodshed that led to more hard work and bloodshed. We've got to continue the hard work of democracy, reducing bloodshed by other means than drones.
I have no strong last line, because there is none. Keep on fighting nonviolently. Blessings to Occupy. The work is never done for us, by us. July 4 is no three-day weekend. It's back to work tomorrow for most of us.
America? As Gandhi might say, it's a nice idea.
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