Has Independence Day Lost Its Luster?

Independence Day used to be one of my favorite holidays. For one, it was not a religious holiday which immediately elevates it above most other holidays. But I also loved the Fourth of July because I was a Patriot – America, fuck yeah!

Well, over the years I have become somewhat less patriotic and a great deal less proud of my nation. Not only that, but looking back at history I no longer believe that America was what I thought it was or ever really embraced the ideals I once associated with it.

I saw America as a nation which re-popularized democracy and which celebrated diversity and liberty for all. But did it really? The first part I might grant you. America did re-popularize democracy, but it certainly didn’t invent it. We owe that debt to the Greeks. As for diversity and liberty, it depends on what history books you read.

Sure we can talk about founding fathers like Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Madison, and other enlightenment leaders from the birth of our nation, but there were also a lot of religious wackos in leadership positions who actively pushed against those ideals. We don’t hear their names as often because we have created a narrative that all the founders were on the same page and that they supported the ideals that most liberal Americans today support. If that were true, then we wouldn’t have needed to have fought a civil war (nod to the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg).

The sad fact is that America hasn’t changed much. We are as we have always been — a divided nation with slightly more enlightened, progressive people than hateful, religious wackos who fear anyone different from them.

Every fight for diversity and liberty has been hard fought in the country. We are still fighting that fight today on many issues such as racial minority rights, women’s rights, immigration rights, gay rights, and the rights of non-theists among others. And just like in our early days, it is the religious that tend to be the ones who we are constantly fighting against.

As much as I would love to romanticize the creation of the United States, the fact is that it was hard fought, not just against the British, but against ourselves. We didn’t win every battle on day one either and we are still fighting battles today. America has never been a nation that as a whole supports liberty and justice for all.

So when we celebrate our Independence Day, exactly what are we celebrating? Are we celebrating a military victory against the British? Or are we celebrating the victory of our ideals which might not have really been the ideals we currently associate with America? I would like to think that we are celebrating the triumph of the ideals of freedom, diversity, liberty, and justice for all. But does that correlate with American Independence?