(I have occasionally seen memes saying we should not call it the Fourth of July but instead call it by its "proper" name, Independence Day. I understand the sentiment, but historically it has more commonly been referred to as the Fourth of July, so if anything "the Fourth of July" is more truly American. It has become a widely accepted element of our culture.)
Some people might be disinclined to celebrate Independence Day because of our president. Donald Trump, at best, at minimum, is a bully. I have no need to elaborate here; it should be pretty obvious. If you support Trump, nothing will sway you; if his actions haven't already disillusioned you, nothing will.
But if you aren't celebrating the Fourth because of Trump, you are letting him win. The United States of America do not belong to Donald Trump. The United States of America belong to We the People. Uh, Us the People. He has not always been the president, and he will not always be.
Celebrate the Fourth of July because we have checks and balances, so he can't do whatever harmful, selfish thing he wants. Celebrate the Fourth because we have presidential terms, not monarchical reigns.
Some people might not want to celebrate the Fourth of July because of the problems we have in our country. And we certainly have them. We have systemic racism, a gun problem, and hoards of other issues.
But loving our country does not mean that we think it's perfect or even that it's the best country. But we can appreciate the good. And because we love our country, it will help us want to make it better. The Fourth of July is not only about what America is but also what we want it to be.
But even though we have our share of problems, we can't forget all the good we have. It would be futile for me to list all the good, because there's so many good things we often take them for granted. Other countries don't have what we have.
For example, when I worked at BYU Studies, I helped proofread a book that was sent to China to be printed because it was cheaper to print there. But China would not print it unless we removed the references to Taiwan and Mongolia and changed them to China. This year, at the Sundance Film Festival, I watched an Iranian film that had to be approved by their government. And in parts of India right now, Muslims are actively persecuted with violence. We cannot take our freedom of religion or speech for granted.
Some of my own historical research has been enlightening. The Mormon pioneers were furious with the government. They had been driven from state to state by mobs, and the government didn't help them. Yet they still enthusiastically celebrated the Fourth of July because they appreciated the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. In fact, they created celebrations for the Twenty-Fourth of July, which was essentially the Fourth all over again. At a Twenty-Fourth of July celebration in 1854, Leo Hawkins said, “On the 4th of July we express our patriotic feelings, and revere the men who burst the shackles of tyranny, and introduced a new dynasty into the political world." In 1852, Daniel H. Wells said, "Shall we forget our history? If we do, we shall be unlike our revolutionary fathers, who take great care not only to commemorate theirs, but impress upon their children every notable circumstance pertaining to the birth of Freedom."
Which brings us to another point. Some people might not want to celebrate Independence Day because of problems in America's history. And boy, are there problems in America's history. Slavery and the decimation of Native Americans are the biggest, most glaring, but there are plenty of others: internment camps, Plessy v. Ferguson, etc.
Celebrating the Fourth does not mean we condone or celebrate those bad parts. We need to be aware of our history so we can know how it still adversely affects people today.
But we also can't forget the good parts. We stood up against tyranny. We put men on the moon. One of our most iconic symbols has a plaque to welcome the tired, poor "wretched refuse."
And here's a not-so-comforting thought: I don't think there is a single nation or culture in the world that does not have a troubled history. We like to think that since we are all humans, we are all a brotherhood capable of compassion and love. But there is an unfortunate flip side. As humans, we are all capable of cruelty, tribalism, and oppression of those who are different from us.
But those foibles do not forbid us from honoring heritage. Chinese people can honor their heritage even though their ancestors practiced foot binding; Utah Native Americans can honor their heritage even though their ancestors sold captive children into slavery; Germans can honor their heritage even though, you know, the Holocaust.
There is a common phrase we hear: "I'm proud to be an American." I don't object to the expression, but I don't know that I can agree with it, because I didn't do anything to be born American. I can be proud of my publications or my calf muscles, because I worked for those things. I feel lucky and privileged to be American, but I can't take pride in something I didn't work for.
The people who can really say they're proud to be Americans are the immigrants, because they chose to be Americans. They actually did hard things to be American.
I would also say that military personnel, both current and veterans, can be proud to be Americans, because they directly did something to preserve and defend America. (In case you haven't heard, there's a new report that Russia has been paying the Taliban bounties for American soldiers. This is 100 percent unacceptable. Our leaders cannot let this happen.)
Thanks to a certain pandemic, this Independence Day will be unlike any we have ever experienced. But I will still celebrate—to honor the America we already have and to hope for an even better country in the future.
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In frivolous news, I saw this commercial on TV last night and couldn't believe it was real.
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