Editorial Recognize our interdependence on Independence Day

Fireworks, food, friends and fun – it’s all part of Fourth of July festivities celebrating our nation’s founding. But what does it mean to be American? Independence Day is built around a shared celebration in a country so diverse its people share little else in common. Americans are diverse in cultures, religions, race, backgrounds, identity, political ideology and their view of the country’s history. That diversity, both as a nation and right here in Taos, ought to be our strength. Whether or not it is depends on how Americans – broadly and in communities like Taos – communicate and interact with each other, despite their differences. Every once in a while the ties and core governing values that connect Americans are tested, perhaps never more strongly than in the last two years. It remains the most American of ideals that the government only operates with the consent of the governed. But when it appears that government has been co-opted for personal gain by leaders, the governed must speak against it. When decisions are made that threaten long-standing alliances in favor of despots who care not one wit for democratic ideals, it should be of grave concern to every American. When a leader takes actions that put us on the brink of war, one that will impact all Americans – including those in Taos County, which has sent many of its sons and daughters into battles – the governed must question the leader. When the governed stop questioning and avoid the hard work of holding their elected leaders to task and demanding that their voices be heard, that’s when the democracy fails. On July 4th, remember the words of the Declaration of Independence, which despite its founding limits based on gender and race, formed the backbone of America. It makes clear that all Americans have the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and when “any form of government becomes destructive of those ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.” Any such changes should never be made lightly or for “transient causes,” the declaration insists. The document declaring our independence from an English monarchy was later expanded in a Constitution and its amendments, which sought to strengthen the promise of an American democracy for all of its people, regardless of who they are or where they come from. In an era when Americans seem increasingly split apart by our differences rather than bound together by shared ideals, Independence Day is a good time to take a step back and think about this country’s identity. What does it mean to be an American? Ultimately, we the people choose the definition both as individuals and collectively. Perhaps it would be appropriate to call July 4 Interdependence Day, as people with the Rainbow Family do when thousands of them gather in a different national forest each year to celebrate. Because ultimately, Americans do depend on each other to hold this country together, deciding year by year, election by election, to stay together as a nation.