I’ve been thinking about the Fourth of July. During the past couple of years, I’ve become less confident that there’s any agreement what precisely it is meant to celebrate. In theory it’s a celebration of our self-proclaimed anniversary of independence from British rule. Excellent. Yet it more closely resembles a general celebration of whatever America means to each particular celebrant.
In the current political climate, that meaning is swamped with a lot of rhetoric and frustration. I am proud of America in many ways. I am happy I live here. And most Americans probably agree that the Fourth is a great time to reflect on what makes America an awesome place to be, and what could be changed to improve it.
The issue is, of course, the levels of disagreement people have on those two points: What parts of America are actually awesome and worth celebrating, and how can we improve it?
I’m not going to dive into all that, but it naturally causes some uncomfortable celebrations. While there are always things to improve and aspects of the Fourth are rather hypocritical given our nation’s history, I still believe that some level of optimism and celebration is warranted. But I don’t know how much is appropriate. I continue to feel conflicted, and want to be careful with how I express myself.
I’ll be curious to see what types of celebrations, and potentially protests, arise this weekend. What are different groups of people thinking right now, given the state of the world? I have my guesses, but people have continued to surprise everyone in different ways.