July Fourth (RE-POST)

Mustapha Shehu
Cambridge, MA


July Fourth was conceived as a celebration from the very beginning. John Adams, the second American president had predicted, albeit in reference to July 2nd the day the legal separation from Great Britain took effect. “It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other,” Adams then wrote.

However, in a presidential election year, when sentiment against the war in Iraq is high and the discontent (fear?) over the economy is growing, many Americans paused to think about what it means to be patriotic on July Fourth.

Jessie Babcock, a native of Seattle, Wash, and MBA student at the Heller School of Policy Management, Brandies University, said that unlike the older generation, most people now see July Fourth as time to only party and barbeque. “The generation of my 71-year-old veteran father, celebrates July Fourth with more patriotism. They wave and salute the flag,” she said.

Babcock points to change in patriotic sentiment she has noticed since the Iraq War. “Without lapsing into generalization, I sense that among people my age who identify as liberal-minded, socially-conscious citizens, feeling a strong sense of patriotism is anathema in the face of a narrow-thinking, inept President; a hypocritical, dysfunctional government; and an over-powerful, over-exerted military.

“There is so much wrong with the country and the direction we've been heading for the last decade that I think many of us are waiting for a change in leadership to restore our faith in the country and to help us feel honor as Americans again,” she said.

Bartholomew Ken a 51-year-old African American, who said he is unemployed, however questions the essence of the independence itself. To Ken, seen hanging around Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square, the Declaration of Independence was negotiated by a group of white men. “What then is there in July Fourth for the Black man like me?” he queried. “You have to consider our history.”

Bernard Mwangi, a 45-year-old naturalized American citizen of Kenyan descent however, believes that there is much to celebrate about July Fourth. American freedom from British colonialism, he said, is worth celebrating irrespective of race and in spite of discontent with the current administration.

“Americans celebrate July Fourth with high patriotism, they seem to connect that day with the ideals of freedom, like free speech etc.” he said.

Mwangi contends that in spite of the high sentiment against the war in Iraq and the growing discontent (fear?) over the economy, the kind of patriotism displayed by Americans in the celebration of the Declaration of Independence is not evident in Kenya his birth place that achieved independence only recently in 1963

Babcock points out that in shaping the country’s future, Americans must acknowledge its history. Americans must also recognize that while the country may have been founded on equality and justice for all, blacks, women and other minorities did not have the same rights as white men because they were not considered full citizens.

Even now that the laws have changed to try to protect people's rights, discrimination is still an everyday reality for many” she said.