Why Progressives Should Celebrate Our Nation’s 250th Birthday
How to do it our way while coming to grips with the USA's difficult history
President Trump’s takeover of the United States’ 250th birthday has left many of us liberals wondering if we should mark our country’s big milestone. And yes it’s our country, too.
While Trump is having his “rally” (yes, he called it that) in Washington DC on July 4, it might seem difficult to celebrate our country which was founded mostly on stolen land and built in large part by slaves or by exploited migrant workers.
While the Declaration of Independence and Constitution are glorious documents, the United States hasn’t provided liberty and justice for all. Not even close.
When I was a teenager I had spirited discussions about U.S. history with my grandfather, who served as an attorney for the New York City government for many years and who wrote the first municipal code of ethics.
(That code of ethics served as a template for cities around the country. To learn more, you can read his obituary here in the New York Times.)
“The United States is the worst country in the world,” he’d say, then add, “except for all the others.”
His point was that although our country is deeply flawed, at its best it’s an experiment that reaches for the highest ideals. And that it’s a pretty good place to live.
Since Trump became president, chants of “USA, USA” can feel “more like a threat than an invitation,” wrote Cristina Beltrán in Politico.
“We are a nation split between those who believe America is a nation that requires a reckoning and those demanding only celebration,” Beltrán said.
So far the celebration has included cage fighting on the White House lawn and the botched resurfacing of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Today we learned that Trump won’t start the July Fourth fireworks show, the most appealing event for kids, until 10:30 or 11pm, rather than the typical 9:30pm start. That will be too late for some families.
It’s almost like he’s trying to out-Grinch the Grinch.
Reckoning with our history, working toward liberty and justice for all
Let’s face it – it’s hard to love our country in these times, when racism, Christian nationalism and white supremacy aren’t covert policy, they’re trumpeted by those who hold the most powerful political offices.
Instead, let’s honor American heroes, not just Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and Hamilton, who led the drive throw off the yoke of monarchy.
Let’s learn more about Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Chief Joseph and Rosa Parks, and the countless others who took a long view and fought for humanity.
Let’s celebrate the rights enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, especially the right of free speech and peaceful protest, as that has made our country a beacon around the world and given us the tools to create a better society.
As Americans we have much to reckon with, and the current administration’s Orwellian deletions of our checkered history are a threat we must combat. We must remember and make amends, restitution and reparation, a word rooted in repair.
Yet as deeply flawed as our history is, the American experiment, as dynamic as ever, is worth celebrating. Even if it’s on the ropes.
We can mourn what’s been lost, but we also need to enlist as soldiers for justice.
For what it’s worth, my wife and I may be spending the evening of July 4th with a band paying tribute to that most American of musical ensembles, the Grateful Dead.
And then we’ll get to work supporting candidates nationwide who are committed to progressive change in our country.