So, does my generation really celebrate independence on the Fourth of July? Or does it celebrate the country that has consistently engaged in land, resource and power grabbing since the beginning of its formation? Does my generation mistake rebellious acts of so-called American revolutionaries in the late 1700s for individuals who if alive today would have been content with parading around with hats saying "Don't Tread on Me"?
Perhaps, this sentiment can be expanded outward. What of the rebellious nature and spirit of the late 1700s has carried on into the 21st Century?
Last year, on July 4th, I commemorated those who I believed continue to carry on the tradition of agitation, struggle and rebellion.
The patriots I lauded were not the patriots you would see featured in your local news. They weren't the people who would march in city parades when they return home. They weren't the individuals you would see going around to talk shows on cable and network television to talk about their feats and accomplishments.
Those I commemorated were the unsung heroes. Unsung heroes are the ones that are burnt out, tired, underpaid, overworked, past cynical and probably demoralized but somehow willing to take what this country has laid before them and organize. They are willing to do the dirty work necessary to organize communities and peacefully assemble actions of resistance to show that there are key liberties and human values that are being subverted on a daily basis by this country.
They are still the people I believe have the power to create real and lasting change that this country needs, they are still the people I would rather have running this country than the current pillage and plunderers Americans have allowed into power.
Through their engagement in independent political action, I believe they have the capacity and ability to make this country independent of some of the most toxic trends, ideologies, and systemic crises Americans face.
Corporate personhood, corporate power and welfare, Big Banks, Big Oil, fossil fuels, religious fundamentalism that many allow to skew and subvert science, health insurance companies, free market ideology, unrestrained military spending, the continuation of wars in the Middle East, the broken electoral system that forces Americans to remain in a state of civic adolescence, etc --- The urgent need to declare independence from the above is fierce.
For what it's worth, the Republican Party and Democratic Party both deserve to be victim of fights for independence. What has the Republican Party done for Americans lately? What has the Democratic Party done for Americans lately? (No matter how obvious you think the answers are these are questions that will lead to contentious debates because many Americans still play the two-party system game instead of working to tear down its apparatus.)
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