Now that slavery has been abolished in the USA, civil rights acts established, now that women and any other free citizens of age can vote, now that the 18-21 year old crew can, too, Americans can feel pretty good about Independence Day. Some of these liberties have been established in my own life time.
With British Petroleum off our shores, however, and some of our not-so-united states (Arizona, for example) in a repressive mood, gay rights still fledgling and the land of the free, home of the brave (still) blithely having committed troops and mercenaries to invade and garrison "over there" for insufficient reason (specifically Iraq) and having re-established prison camps (Gitmo, etc.) after 9/11/2001, we can't now afford to rest on our laurels, not by a long shot. If the USA has been at war for more than half of my lifetime, this is certainly even more true for anyone younger than I am . . .
I, too, though, despite the long haul still to go, personally am grateful to be free, to not have to attend a state-sponsored Puritanical ceremony, to be able to write without censorship, to communicate mostly with whom I wish, to eat drink and be merry on my own time, to travel far and wide without censure, to have a job, to have friends and family and aquaintances alive and kicking, to be alive to enjoy, to get another day of life, even -- yes, cynical-sounding as I may sometimes come across, I do be grateful. Have freedom, will travel . . . Happy Independence Day from the US of A, y'all!
Today's Rune: Defense.
5 comments:
Yeah, there are so many great tihngs about living in this country, and it is completely American to want it to be even better, and better for everyone living in it.
More or less maybe.
Amen, Erik! You said it all. Hope yours was a great one!
Amen. It may not be a perfect country, but it's got plenty to be proud of.
I was listening to NPR this morning about the 50th anniversary of "To Kill A Mockingbird," and how it was part of the artistic backdrop to the civil rights movement. As I've pointed out frequently, most of the sacrifices made for that movement-- Schwerner, Cheney and Goodman, Violet Liuzza, M.L. King-- and most of the advances-- Voting Rights Act, etc.-- were within my short lifetime.
Hope July 4th was happy for you. It'll be nice to do that again, fireworks, barbeque, the last weeks of sun (sort of).
Re: Johnny Rojo
Amazing how the arts (writers, chiefly) not only reflected the times but also shaped the times (in US history, Soviet history, ...)
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