A Fourth of July celebration like no other
Onthis Fourth of July weekend, Americans will gather. We’ll eat burgers in backyards and sit on blankets with necks craned toward fireworks. Some of us will wave the flag at parades. Some of us will drink a beer with neighbors.
None of that would have seemed noteworthy in prior years. Duh. That’s what we do on the Fourth.
But this year is different, a Fourth of July like no other. This weekend’s version comes on the heels of pandemic restrictions that put traditions on hold. Last year, the fireworks were canceled, mostly. Many Americans marked the holiday at home. Crowds were risky, forbidden even.
Given how much progress has been made, there was an expectation that this Fourth could be a celebration of the country’s
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defeat of COVID -19, an outpouring of national pride at the conquering of a common enemy.
“America is headed into a summer dramatically different from last year,” the White
House wrote last month in an email sent to state and local officials, according to The Associated Press. “A summer of freedom. A summer of joy. A summer of reunions and celebrations.”
All of that may very well be true, fingers crossed. But given the spread of COVID -19 variants and the flattening vaccination rate, celebrating victory over the pandemic feels a bit premature — or perhaps just tacky, given the continuing death and despair in much of the world.
But even if that weren’t the case, even if COVID -19 could safely be considered done and dusted, would we be capable of coming together to celebrate what’s best about the country? In the America of 2021, is any sort of unity possible?
To put it another way: Does it feel like patriotism is waning?
Some slice of the political left, after all, believes America’s very real history of racism and brutality means the country is irredeemable and impervious to progress. It was rotten at the start, in other words, and remains so now.
A chunk of the right is convinced the country is so rotten that a presidential election could be stolen in plain sight. It believes without evidence that the judiciary, government and media are in on the theft. No authority or reported fact can be trusted. This democracy is a sham.
There are massive differences between the strains of thought, obviously, and the idea here isn’t to compare them. But it’s undeniable that they share a deep cynicism about the country. They both assert, essentially, that America as it exists is not a good place.
If that’s true, well, what is there to be patriotic about? What’s to celebrate? Take the dogs off the grill. Douse the fireworks.
The good news is that most Americans don’t feel that way. Most know that claims of a stolen election are untrue. And most recognize that this country is uniquely wonderful, exceptional even, despite its division and continuing injustices.
Two hundred and forty-five years ago, a bunch of rebels declared independence from tyranny and began the process of starting a new nation. Yes, that new country was defiled by an acceptance of slavery that made its “all men are created equal” rhetoric a cruel joke.
But the new nation was also revolutionary for its insistence on things we lazily take for granted — freedom of speech and religion not least among them. It overturned the assumed relationship between people and government, asserting that power rested with the former. Within the scope of human history, that was no small thing.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution laid a novel foundation for human flourishing and freedom. They allowed for the glorious, messy, loud, eccentric, restless, frustrating, exhilarating, sprawling and magnificent country we celebrate this weekend.
The place isn’t perfect. The country can be militaristic, imperialistic and jingoistic. Many of its people still have good reason to doubt that the nation sees them as fully equal.
Many of its neighborhoods are scarred by violence, disillusion or loneliness.
But there’s so much good here, so much to love, so much beauty and freedom and dynamism, all of which helps explain why people from around the world remain so eager to join us. And America, undeniably fairer and more just than it was even decades ago, is getting better. The all-consuming cynicism isn’t rational.
The pandemic, it is true, exposed many of our weaknesses and fault lines, and it is probably no coincidence that cynicism would subsequently rise. Perhaps the isolation and the hours online and the masked smiles also led to a loss of perspective.
Let this holiday weekend, with its unfettered crowds and barbecues, be a chance to gain some of it back. Celebrate the things that make the country extraordinary. Get outside.
Bring back the joy. Happy
Fourth of July.