We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ~Declaration of Independence
On this day in 1776, our marauding, slave-owning, pontificating forefathers (most of whom had been booted out of other countries) declared this here land they stole from brown folks a country. Happy Birthday, America! We is free… aren't we?
I'm sorry to bring down the BBQ high but I have to wonder... In a country where as of June 20 an average of 842,000 people a week are homeless, 6.8 million people are considered long-term (27 weeks or more) unemployed, 45.7 million people are uninsured and Rush Limbaugh is still on the air… just how free are we?
I mean we've been given inalienable rights and then a whole constitution with a Bill of Rights and twenty-seven (27!) amendments. But it occurs to me that there is a difference between having rights and being allowed to exercise those rights.
How can you pursue happiness without a job? How can you preserve life without healthcare? And perhaps there's such a thing as too much damn liberty if we can't find a way to get the Limbaughs, Becks and Palins to go sit down somewhere. Ugh.
Alright, I didn't want to go all the way in. We're trying to celebrate. And let's face it, raggedy as our collective history may be… America still kinda rocks. The belief that your life can turn on a dime, that you can achieve anything given a brain and opportunity, that we're all in this together (even when we don't like each other), that no matter how bad things get we are determined to find a way to win… all of that is essentially American at its core. Football, apple pie, meat over hot coals and our contribution to cuisine around the world: The Potato Chip. Amen.
I recently invested twelve hours of my life to watch The History Channel's documentary "America: The Story of Us
" – I really enjoyed it. For once, no one whitewashed American history (pun intended) and just served it straight… the good, the bad and the ugly. But it was fascinating and far better than any history class I sat through in school. If you get the chance, check it out. Here's a preview:
" – I really enjoyed it. For once, no one whitewashed American history (pun intended) and just served it straight… the good, the bad and the ugly. But it was fascinating and far better than any history class I sat through in school. If you get the chance, check it out. Here's a preview:While you're out there celebrating the greatness of our nation, think a good thought for those without the means, the place or the health to truly enjoy this Fourth of July. Send up a prayer with the fireworks and be safe today.
7 comments:
It is the epitome of freedom that the Becks, Palins and Limbaughs roam the earth to spout their particular vision of freedom.
With the extraordiary amount of freedom we have ACCESS to in this country, comes the responsibility to exercise discretion in what we do with it.
Those numbers are SO much worse than I thought. That's staggeringly sad. Prayers up.
Your first paragraph is giving me life. It is EVERYthing I love about your writing.
Highly encourage watching America: The Story of Us. It was running yesterday as well. We had a standing appointment on Sundays to watch it until it the finale. And the Mister will be getting the complete set for his birthday because he enjoyed THAT much.
Powerful words, Chele..well done!
What happened to the superficial pop your Budweiser to the Fourth of July? This country is change so much of the last 250 years. We went from a monarchy to a democracy in which only a few Americans had the pleasure of enjoying the privileges of freedom and liberty. We fought two world wars. We went to the first as a neophyte and we emerge from the second as a world superpower. We did a lot of internal housecleaning during the 20th century. We did women's rights and civil rights. We found that passing laws were easier than enforcing those exact same laws. We decided to do things different than the British and instead of invading a country for its resources, we sent in teams of well-dressed economic hit men. We found that propping up dictators had its advantages.
now, as we wind down the war of convenience, we find the land of apple pie at a crossroads. We were at this exact same crossroads in the early 1900s. Are we going to rein in corporate influence our government? Are we can allow jobs to be exported overseas that will? Are we going to value an honest days work or are we going to value the hedge fund manager?
These are heady things to think about on 4 July. Right now, I'm getting ready to put my ribs on the grill along with my hot dogs (everything 's been marinated overnight) and I'm going to pop a Sam Adams. Tomorrow, and the role of my sleeves and try and fight for justice while trying to scratch out a living in these United States of America. Happy Fourth of July!
Happy Fourth to BougieLand!
I completely loved the America: Story of US series. I watched it when I first aired a few weeks ago and I also felt that it was very honest and more accurate than any other presentation of our country's history.
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