Our bond held – briefly – on holiday
It felt good while it lasted, didn’t it?
Strangers, arm in arm while dancing to “The Stars And Stripes Forever,” evoked memories of a oneness we all felt not so long ago.
It was such a part of who we were that we made it our national motto — “E Pluribus Unum,” out of many, one — remember?
That Fourth of July celebration on the Esplanade, so awesome in its grandeur yet as Boston as a threedecker, was a splendid reaffirmation of who we are as a nation and what we hold dear.
But now it’s more like a reminder of who we used to be, because something’s changing in America and it’s not a change for the better.
The guessing here is that if someone had polled those high-stepping revelers Thursday night they’d have found every political persuasion represented in their ranks, because on that glorious occasion it didn’t matter; America belonged to all of them.
Or at least it did until the final notes of the “1812 Overture,” punctuated by roaring cannons and pulsating church bells, signaled it was time to get back to the nasty business of badmouthing this country, trashing its heritage and questioning its character.
Cultural anarchists are now tearing down historic monuments and statues, erasing history, while useful idiots plot to give away benefits as if doling out Halloween candy, and presidential candidates demonize the incumbent as a “pathological liar” whom they’re yearning to impeach.
That’s America 2019 and it’s painful to behold.
It’s what makes the Fourth of July such a breath of fresh air.
We pledge to be “one nation, under God, indivisible,” but we’re not walking that talk, are we? We once did. When did we stop, and why?
A daffy young member of Congress looks at illegal immigration and sees a second Holocaust. Such ignorance is staggering.
Indeed, the freedom we now celebrate most is the freedom to be a jerk.
When did we squelch the courage of our convictions to a point where wearing a hat that expresses our political leanings is considered daring, if not dangerous?
Back in 1965, the height of the Civil Rights era, satirist Tom Lehrer released a whimsical parody on National Brotherhood Week that he probably couldn’t get away with in these uptight times:
“It’s National Brotherhood Week! National Brotherhood Week! Lena Horne and Sheriff Clark are dancing cheek to cheek,” concluding with “It’s only for a week, so have no fear. Be grateful that it doesn’t last all year!”
But patriotism once did. If only it did again.