Here in the US, the 4th day of July brings family picnics, civic parades and fireworks extravaganzas. People will dress up in the 'ol red, white and blue. Via our elected leaders and the mainstream media, "Americans" will be exhorted to feel great pride in our nation, our history and ourselves.
And what was the impetus for all this patriotic and nationalistic swelling of the bosom? Economics.
Of course, that's not what we've been taught and it certainly isn't what we will hear about today. Oh no, we'll hear about "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". All the important thinkers and speakers will put the concept of freedom first and foremost. But it's mostly a myth, a pr job.
Back in the day when the US of A was nothing more than a British colony, there arose -- as arises almost anywhere -- a class of individuals who possessed more land, wealth and power than the average bloke. These members of the colonial upper class didn't like the fact that some of their wealth was mandated to travel across the great pond to support the monarchy. They wanted to keep more of it for themselves.
The cry of "taxation without representation" came up. It's not that they didn't agree with the concept of taxation; they disagreed with the fact they couldn't administer the allotted loot themselves. But while the rich have a great tendency to incite war, in modern times, they don't participate much in the actual waging of it. So, the American gentry had to sell the commoners on the idea that tyranny of the minority of themselves would be far better than the tyranny of the king.
That's why all this rosy rhetoric came into being. The upper crust who wanted to rid themselves of the yoke of the monarch couldn't explicitly state this as the reason for revolution. If they had, most of the laborers of the day -- the ones who made up the majority of the continental army -- would have said, go fight your own damn war! To get them to fight, the revolutionary leaders needed to appeal to their base emotions. Hence, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".
In general, historians don't look very hard at the common John and Jane of history. What we can glean from all our history books is how the upper classes lived and died. Some works go into great detail about what they ate, read, dressed in and how they wiled there time away. But too little is known of the life of the landless serf.
For example, how was life different for the American peasant who one day was a subject of the king and the next day was a so-called "free" man or woman. They still paid taxes. Their behavior was regulated by a privileged minority. Almost every aspect of their lives wasn't dramatically different. They toiled too long to make somebody else rich and they died far too young.
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Another thought that is percolating through my mind today concerns the military symbolism of the 4th of July. Today is the one day each year when every American is thought to salute the flag and be proud that they are Americans.
It's rather ironic when one considers how poorly the continental army performed during the Revolutionary War. It would be hard to argue that the revolutionists won even one battle. Compared to the mighty army of the king, our force was an embarrassingly motley crew. They were ill-equipped and, in many cases, ill-trained.
We didn't even "win" the war. The Brits handed us our independence because all the battles and skirmishes proved to be economically disadvantageous. Simply put, it cost them too damn much!
***********************************
Anytime someone such as myself doesn't buy in to all the hoopla of the 4th of July, there will be some who suggest that I can always move somewhere else. Such people will state that I don't understand the greatness of this hallowed nation and I don't respect the lives lost of those who have fought to protect the American ideals of democracy and freedom.
Well, like many of America's indigenous people, I am tied to this land. It has a special place in my heart and it holds, if you will, a spiritual significance to me. I could no more move somewhere else than I could pluck out my right eye and throw it in the ocean.
People like me are dangerous because we understand that this nation ain't so hallowed. To be certain, America has done some good things over the past 200+ years, but we've done (and continue to do) a lot of very bad things. People like me understand that we don't live up to our own hype.
And so, today means nothing significant to me. I may happen to live in this artificial entity called the USA, but I consider myself a man of the world. If a label must be used, I am far more Taoist than American. I believe in the connection and interdependence of all things.
And what was the impetus for all this patriotic and nationalistic swelling of the bosom? Economics.
Of course, that's not what we've been taught and it certainly isn't what we will hear about today. Oh no, we'll hear about "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". All the important thinkers and speakers will put the concept of freedom first and foremost. But it's mostly a myth, a pr job.
Back in the day when the US of A was nothing more than a British colony, there arose -- as arises almost anywhere -- a class of individuals who possessed more land, wealth and power than the average bloke. These members of the colonial upper class didn't like the fact that some of their wealth was mandated to travel across the great pond to support the monarchy. They wanted to keep more of it for themselves.
The cry of "taxation without representation" came up. It's not that they didn't agree with the concept of taxation; they disagreed with the fact they couldn't administer the allotted loot themselves. But while the rich have a great tendency to incite war, in modern times, they don't participate much in the actual waging of it. So, the American gentry had to sell the commoners on the idea that tyranny of the minority of themselves would be far better than the tyranny of the king.
That's why all this rosy rhetoric came into being. The upper crust who wanted to rid themselves of the yoke of the monarch couldn't explicitly state this as the reason for revolution. If they had, most of the laborers of the day -- the ones who made up the majority of the continental army -- would have said, go fight your own damn war! To get them to fight, the revolutionary leaders needed to appeal to their base emotions. Hence, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".
In general, historians don't look very hard at the common John and Jane of history. What we can glean from all our history books is how the upper classes lived and died. Some works go into great detail about what they ate, read, dressed in and how they wiled there time away. But too little is known of the life of the landless serf.
For example, how was life different for the American peasant who one day was a subject of the king and the next day was a so-called "free" man or woman. They still paid taxes. Their behavior was regulated by a privileged minority. Almost every aspect of their lives wasn't dramatically different. They toiled too long to make somebody else rich and they died far too young.
***********************************
Another thought that is percolating through my mind today concerns the military symbolism of the 4th of July. Today is the one day each year when every American is thought to salute the flag and be proud that they are Americans.
It's rather ironic when one considers how poorly the continental army performed during the Revolutionary War. It would be hard to argue that the revolutionists won even one battle. Compared to the mighty army of the king, our force was an embarrassingly motley crew. They were ill-equipped and, in many cases, ill-trained.
We didn't even "win" the war. The Brits handed us our independence because all the battles and skirmishes proved to be economically disadvantageous. Simply put, it cost them too damn much!
***********************************
Anytime someone such as myself doesn't buy in to all the hoopla of the 4th of July, there will be some who suggest that I can always move somewhere else. Such people will state that I don't understand the greatness of this hallowed nation and I don't respect the lives lost of those who have fought to protect the American ideals of democracy and freedom.
Well, like many of America's indigenous people, I am tied to this land. It has a special place in my heart and it holds, if you will, a spiritual significance to me. I could no more move somewhere else than I could pluck out my right eye and throw it in the ocean.
People like me are dangerous because we understand that this nation ain't so hallowed. To be certain, America has done some good things over the past 200+ years, but we've done (and continue to do) a lot of very bad things. People like me understand that we don't live up to our own hype.
And so, today means nothing significant to me. I may happen to live in this artificial entity called the USA, but I consider myself a man of the world. If a label must be used, I am far more Taoist than American. I believe in the connection and interdependence of all things.
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