Fourth of July Thoughts
This year many of us are questioning our right to celebrate Fourth of July in light of the recent acknowledgment our country has been making that not everyone was made free. Many see focusing on America's independence from British rule is another indication of America’s wrong-headed nationalism and hypocrisy. Does Fourth of July is signify an exclusive attitude? An attitude that speaks of superiority? Is pride in one’s country supercilious? Maybe. Sometimes. But what if there are different definitions of nationalism? Which there are. What if one definition states that nationalism is only self-supporting and excludes other nations to their detriment; this the nationalism Germany fell prey to, and yet another definition states that nationalism can define simply a nation’s desire and support for political independence. Is there anything wrong with recognizing one’s own strengths and celebrating them? These are honest questions. China, India and other countries make up 66.2 percent of the world population. Are we meant to look at the fact of that majority to remember that we are somehow insignificant? I think that there is a benefit of looking at it like that. To see ourselves as only one small portion of the world and remember that we are not the only people that matter. I also think that there’ s nothing wrong with saying or thinking that despite our measly 4.3% share of the population, we are a great (not perfect) 4.3%. I would go so far as to say that for as such a small country as we are and despite our many wrongs, we have still stood out among the nations. I, for one, would not like to live in China or the Middle East or South America. I prefer to live in a country where I am not persecuted (yet) for my religion, not demeaned because I am a woman (to the degree of genital mutilation and stoning) and am fortunate to live somewhere that is not by and large poverty stricken and where opportunity is harder to come by (I do understand that in America these opportunities and class distinctions are varied and not the same for all of our citizens). So, I have no problem saying that I think if we’re not getting it right, per se, we’re still getting it better than other places. I don’t say or think that as an insult. I say it from a perspective that understands the undeserved blessing it was to be born an American citizen. I have a responsibility in that. I don’t think it’s wrong to identify what works and what doesn’t. And that is not all a matter of perspective. China remains opposed to basic human rights. So do many other countries in the world. Supporting and defending human rights, unfortunately, is not something many countries are interested in. If I come from a nuclear family with a mom and a dad who are happily married and brothers and sisters who get along and have been spared the heartaches of major dysfunctions such as drug addiction, alcoholism, violence, and incest, should I feel that it is wrong to say that the family that raised me must have done something right? Do all of the other families matter? Of course. They are no less worthy. I have been undeservedly blessed again and am therefore responsible to help others but it would not be helpful to insist that my family didn’t function any better than the family with a father in jail, a mother who had to work two jobs, and a heroin addicted brother. Then we’re all just drowning. It makes no sense to diminish my own family’s accomplishments in order to relate to and love those less fortunate. What does make sense is to help other families also achieve happiness. This can’t be applied directly to countries but, for me, I do think that creating analogies based on microsocieties helps me understand how larger societies function. It’s not America’s place to disrupt and harm a country under the false illusion of helping. It is our responsibility to truly be benevolent and help other countries who are struggling. We need to be able to speak the truth if we hope to do that.