Today is the day millions of Americans try to decipher the expiration date on a frozen 8 pack of Oscar Mayers in the back of the freezer. It always ends with a run to the store because you've got no buns anyway.
In the bygone era before we traded the real world for reality tv world, today was called Independence Day.The 4th of July really meant something beyond the hot dogs we snarfed and the fuses we lit. There was the beer we swilled--when it wasn't prohibition--and the flags we waved which may or may not match the one that flies over the Capital.
It was the day we celebrated a little freedom thanks to the guys from the thirteen colonies who declared themselves forever independent of a king. Fun fact! Next year would have been 250 years king free.
The 56 representatives of the different colonies actually voted for independence on July 2, 1776. It took a couple of days for Thomas Jefferson to write the formal declaration, John Adams to do some editing and everyone's name added. The day the contract was signed is the day we celebrate.
Not only were they breaking free of the king's tyranny, they were breaking free from the king's church's tyranny and from the king's favored corporation's tyranny. They wanted to make their own laws, determine their own beliefs, and do business with whoever they wanted.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." are words written without irony by a wealthy slave owner. It's so slick I often wonder if John Adams didn't slip "all men" in on the edit. Probably not, Jefferson wasn't afraid of bold statements. Not if you believe everything you read on the internet.
"...they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..." I don't think John Adams added anything to that one, but I also don't think it means what most people think. Jefferson was pretty basic. Take a look at his lineage. All men are created equal is the same as saying everyone is made the same way. Remember the talk?
The Creator in Jefferson's world is the person who made you. Apologies now to all females who obviously weren't referenced in the document and probably weren't considered in the creator role by TJeff either. They were wrong about a lot of stuff back then, but they had a few things right.
Like the idea of a government made of the people, by the people and for the people. We were there, warts and all, for about 248 years.
No more. This year for our fireworks we've got one man rule with a state sponsored religion making laws over science. Corporations own our politicians and make money on our privacy. The Supreme Court says we have no privacy.
If you'd like a really interesting hmmm moment for your celebration, grab your transcript of the Declaration of Independence and check the individual grievances. Read closely. I think what they were protesting is eerily similar to what we're seeing today.
While you're at it, throw another pack of dogs on the grill. I've got buns.