Paper Patriotism on Independence Day

I have always hated when people wore their patriotism on their sleeves, but rejected the substance behind that patriotism. It is reassuring to know that I am in good company. Early American artist, John Lewis Krimmel satirized Independence Day celebrations in his famous painting, “Fourth of July Drunk Celebration 1819 – Philadelphia” – Pictured below:

Here we see a depiction of the Fourth of July that takes place 43 years after the original signing. In the foreground you see everyone drinking, singing, dancing, and flag waving but in the background, there are veterans who fought in the Revolutionary War. The veterans are being completely ignored in the celebration.

Obviously, today there aren’t any veterans of the Revolutionary War left, but the principles behind the war and the principles that our country claims to value are often ignored on this holiday in favor of empty symbolism.

Let’s take the American Flag as an example. You will see a lot of flag waving this weekend and pretty much everything will be in red, white, and blue, but what does it all mean? As it turns out, we need go no farther than our Pledge of Allegiance to find the answer.

We “pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic FOR WHICH IT STANDS, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” I guess my issue is that so many Americans ignore those four words. They view the flag itself as worthy of allegiance rather than the principles the flag stand for.

I see this type of paper patriotism all the time, but on Independence Day it takes center stage. It moves to the foreground of American life. Maybe instead of waving flags around like drunken idiots, people can actually use this day of celebration to fight for liberty and justice for all. Just a thought.

Happy Independence Day!