250 Years Later

It's hard to find a lot to celebrate today, but Major Jason Watson's protest on the Capitol Steps is, in my opinion, the most iconic and patriotic act of this year's Fourth.

Like the brave men who signed the Declaration Of Independence, he has pledged his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor to call for the end of the tyranny that is blighting our country.

On reading again the Declaration of Independence, I was struck by how many of the charges brought against King George could equally be applied to DJT.

"A long train of abuses and usurpations ..."

"He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good."

"...obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners..."

"He has obstructed the administration of justice..."

"He has made judges dependent on his will alone..."

"He has erected a multitude of new offices..."

"He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power."

"For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us; for protecting them . . . from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states."

I could go on. The parallels are there.

May Major Watson's bold protest mark a turning point in our history.

The Declaration of Independence.


When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience has shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature; a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people.

legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states;

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;

For imposing taxes on us without our consent;

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury;

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses;

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies;

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments;

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the livon the ins of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress, in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

Taking a Page from Mrs. Alito's Book

 

                                                                             

Grim and perilous times . . . a Supreme Court bought and paid for, Big Money and Big Business set to have it all their own way. . . a nation in distress. 

Not Feeling the Fourth

I'm finding little to celebrate as the Supreme Court chips away at hard won freedoms and the GOP continues in thrall to a criminal and con-man.

If the 'Originalists' on the court have their way, they will take us back to the USA of the original constitution--where only white property owners have the vote, where Black people are enslaved (by poverty and discrimination,) where women are not valued above a fertilized egg, where the LGBTQ's of any sort are shoved back into the closet, where there's no such thing as climate change or pollution, where the social safety net is left to religious groups, and business, holy business runs the show. 

As more and more is revealed about the wealthy folks who've befriended and enriched various of the Supremes, I think it's time that, like NASCAR drivers, they wore patches naming their sponsors on those solemn black robes.

Nope, no flag waving today. I'm embarrassed by my country. 

 

A Dark Day

 As the GOP and their hand-stacked 'originalist' courts seek to return us to the dark ages, I wonder how long this nation that once sought to be a shining city on a hill can endure. 

Big business rejoices as the EPA is stripped of power to fight climate change. The wall between church and state is under attack. Women are now essentially vessels in many states. LBGTQ rights are endangered . . .

How long before those originalists decide to go back to the days of the founding fathers--when women and non-property owners couldn't vote, and non-whites could be held as property?

Far-fetched? Maybe. But that's what we thought when the plate-throwing, pussy-grabbing egotist ran for president. 

Nope, nothing to celebrate today. 

An Idyllic Fourth

                               

Dawn of a New Day?

I'd like to think that, on this Fourth of July, our poor country is beginning to recover from all that the past four years have thrown at us. 

I'd like to think that we are moving closer to the vision set forth in the Declaration of Independence: that all men are created equal and that governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.                

Powerful, lofty words. We pat ourselves on the back, proud to be a part of a country founded on such noble beliefs. We talk of American Exceptionalism, of spreading The American Way across the planet.

 

And yet . . . and yet, the men who wrote those words didn't mean them. Women and people of color weren't accorded those vaunted rights. Nigh two and a half centuries on and we still haven't gotten it right.

And never will until allow ourselves, not only to boast of our accomplishments in this noble experiment, but to recognize and strive to correct our failings.

"My country, right or wrong. If right, to be kept right; if wrong, to be set right." Carl Schurz

 

On This Fourth of July

The words of the Founders, from the Declaration of Independence:

"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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security...."

Our country began with a lie--pretending to subscribe to the equality of all. But within the document is a prescription for change that still rings true.

Did the men, some slaveholders, who wrote this not understand that the people they enslaved were equally worthy of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, that the Native Americans, whose land was and continued to be stolen, were created equal? Or that even women were created equal?

Apparently not. It's taken a long time to address these wrongs and the work is far from complete.

As our country continues to reckon with its past, while caught in the throes of a pandemic that is changing so much that was once normal, might not there be an opportunity for a new beginning, an oportunity to throw off  the long established forms and begin to build an America that recognizes and rejects the lies of the past rather than glorifying them ? A country in which equal opportunity is a reality?  

We can do it without armed revolt. 

We can examine our long held beliefs. Are they based on anything more substantial than grade school pageants and textbooks written by the winners? (Or, in the South, alas, by the losers?) We can vote. We can advocate for change. And we can hold those elected to the promise of a better America.

May July 4, 2021 find our country in a better place, moving forward with true equality for all.

NO, Just NO

I can't do it -- post pictures of flags and fireworks when I know that the individual who has hijacked our country is hijacking the Fourth,  throwing a celebration of himself in our nation's capitol today, complete with tanks and jets and VIPs (big donors) in reserved seats.   

Children snatched from parents, desperate asylum seekers held in disgraceful conditions, big business set free to pollute at will,  homeless vets, corporations reaping the benefits of their contributions in massive tax cuts, long time allies alienated, brutal dictators praised . . . are we great yet? 

Were we ever? But at least, for a long time, we as a nation seemed to be struggling toward equality for all, toward a responsible stewardship of the planet, toward a dream of peace . . .

All this progress has been trampled-- and the supporters of the madman at the helm don't care. They have their judges; they have a good economy, continued growth begun in the Obama era. Little things like human decency are brushed aside.

No flags. No fireworks. Just a great sadness at the direction our country has taken. And a fervent hope that it will change.

Are We Really Better Than This?

We’re better than this has been a popular response to much of what's happening in this country, especially now with the separation of immigrant families. 

But are we better than this? I wonder.

As a country the USA has been responsible for numerous atrocities – against Native Americans from the earliest days, down through the Trail of Tears and the forced “Americanization” of Native children. 

Slavery and Jim Crow laws remain a blot on our record of Liberty and Justice for all. 

And our treatment of immigrants – from the Chinese Exclusion Act to ‘No Irish Need Apply, to quotas favoring Northern Europeans above any others has always been problematic

Then there's our meddling in the affairs of other nations – installing dictators who will toe the US line – which has led to dire consequences from the middle east to Latin America. We have a great deal to answer for, a great deal to be ashamed of.

But despite this dark history, at least we had an common ideal, a goal – to be a beacon of hope, a shining city on a hill. Though we usually fell short of this ideal, it was still a shared vision, the USA as she ought to be rather than as she was. 

Now, I’m not sure. It seems that  many of our fellow citizens want to turn inward, to wall off that shining city, to extinguish the welcoming lights. To slam the door in the face of refugees, to deprive them of their children, and to shut out the rest of the world, mistrusting and derogating former allies while pandering to former enemies.

This version of American Exceptionalism lays claim to leadership not through righteous behavior and moral superiority but through bullying and swaggering. It is a trumpery leadership, hollow beneath its peeling gilt.

This version is the death knell of the American Dream.

To quote Buffy St. Marie: "My county, ‘tis of thy people you’re dying."

Red, White, and Blue Divided

On this Independence Day I want to summon up images of friendly neighbors of every persuasion meeting on the green lawn of some small town square to celebrate the Glorious Fourth. The high school brass band plays in a  band shell festooned with red, white, and blue bunting while a homemade parade -- kids and bikes and pets, old guys on riding lawn mowers, and anyone else who wants to be there -- all decked in red, white and blue, circle the square three times before adjourning to the laden picnic tables. 

No political speeches -- just a welcome from the mayor as she recognizes the folks from all the local  churches/synagogues/mosques and many other groups who have laid out all manner of wonderful food -- from fried chicken and potato salad to kebabs and pirogis, Native American fry bread and spanokopita, tamales and Korean barbecue. Every one is trying a little bit of every thing but saving room for the watermelon and the homemade ice cream and the Cuban flan.

As the light begins to fade, kids dart through the crowd waving sparklers. The mayor calls for quiet and a singing of the national anthem before the fireworks begin(noiseless out of consideration for victims of PTSD and all the critters who would be terrified by the booms.) 

And the first silent fountain of color in the sky elicits an Oooh from every throat and the firefly sparklers weave through the night and everyone in the square smiles at their neighbor and feels a silent burst of pride in this town, this state, this U. S. of A. . . 

Sorry. 

That's what I want to write about. But I can't summon up any non-fictional inspiring words on this Independence Day.  With the current occupant of the White House playing the fool, encouraging the basest instincts of his admirers, and generally making our nation a laughing stock, I'm not seeing much to celebrate today.

Healthcare, education, the environment, the media,civil rights, the meaning of truth itself are all under attack by the Buffoon in Chief and his enablers -- who, in my opinion, are even guiltier of destroying our nation than he.

( When a toddler goes on a rampage, breaking everything in sight and his parents stand by watching -- uttering an occasional tsk, tsk  -- I know who I'd blame.)

The NRA runs an ad that is uncomfortably close to calling for taking up arms against any who disagree with the current regime; an all-girl team from Afghanistan is denied visas to travel to a robotics competition in the US; people who have lived all their lives in the US are being deported, millions may soon find themselves without health insurance again . . .

Is this the America you want? A nation run by and for billionaires, a people whipped into fear so the gun industry can sell even more guns and ammo,  a once proud world power represented by a semi-literate, name-calling, insecure, second rate reality television personality? 

If I were flying a flag today, it would have to be upside down. 

Imagine, If You Will . . .

.

Imagine, if you will, a country where intelligence is suspect, where corporations own the government, and government officials are entertainers, speaking to the lowest common denominator.

Imagine a crumbling infrastructure and a population kept docile by simple-minded sensationalist entertainment. 

I wasn't paying much attention when John started watching this movie a few nights ago (busy writing and revising) but as I realized what I was hearing, I assumed it was a recent release, a satiric take on our current state of affairs that seemed to have gotten it spot-on (except for a lack of racism and xenophobia.)

Then I learned that the movie Idiocracy came out ten years ago and is something of a cult classic. It's a very entertaining dystopian take on American culture (a quick summary is HERE) and it is frighteningly appropriate in this election season.

I commend it to you as food for thought on the day after the Glorious Fourth.

If . . .

A Fourth of July thought from American historian Henry Steele Commager . . . and a good reminder for this election year.

But maybe today we could just celebrate the good things about the USA . . . and leave the criticism and dissent for another day.

We Hold These Truths

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men* are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

*(Of course the authors of the Declaration of Independence didn't actually mean people of color or women of any color. But we've gotten beyond that, haven't we? I'd like to think so.)

May the promise of the United States of America hold true -- for all of us. . .

The Wisdom of the Founding Fathers

"And the rockets' red glare
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there."

 Our country was founded on noble ideals put forth by slave-owning men who saw no reason to treat women as equals or people of color as anything but less than human. The history of our government's treatment of native peoples is appalling. Making a country seems to be as messy and unspeakable a process as making sausage -- you'd rather not see what goes into it.

We've improved, over the years. I don't think even the staunchest conservative who yammers on about the principles of the Founding Fathers would argue that slavery was a good idea or that women shouldn't have the vote.

Yes, we've come a long, long way -- but we're  not there yet. It will be interesting to see how this democracy thing works out -- maybe in another hundred years or so -- if we haven't blown up the planet or rendered it unlivable in some other way.

 Looking back, I find I've pretty well repeated last year's post -- down to the flower arrangement I make every 4th with hydrangeas for clouds and crocosmia and Queen Anne's Lace for firworks -- or rocket's red glare.


I dislike sounding so negative -- I love this country -- but I want it to be as fine as the most rabid patriots think it is.  And it won't get there by blinding ourselves to our shortcomings.