4th of July

This is going to sound callous, perhaps, or unpatriotic, but it’s certainly not meant to be. If anything, quite the opposite. But this is the 4^th of July and I’m wondering when this holiday became Memorial Day or Veterans Day or maybe just Military Service Day. Independence Day is just that, a celebration – with picnics and parades and fireworks – that commemorates the founding of our country, signaled by the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a philosophical and political document and moment, not a military one. Yet, especially since the tragedy of 11 September 2001, and the wars that followed, it seems that every holiday, if not every sporting event and political rally, has turned into a jingoistic rally in support of our military. We give thanks on Thanksgiving (a harvest festival) for the military personnel who have served or are serving to preserve our way of life. We remember at Christmas (a religious-consumer holiday) the sacrifices (being away from home) the military personnel who have served or are serving to preserve our way of life (Christian or consumer). Even Labor Day has in recent years moved from celebrating the labor of the working class to the labor of the military (watch the parades, listen to the speeches).

I’m all for a military that works for us, an institution that secures our borders and engages in necessary conflicts overseas. But I’ve read too much history and literature to be comfortable with the unfettered adulation of the military that we’ve seen in at least the last decade or so. A powerful military is too powerful. Our founders knew this (read the Constitution). And a too powerful military is a threat to freedom.

Today is the holiday that celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence (though 42% of Americans don’t know in what year it was signed and 26% don’t know who we declared independence from). That is what we should be celebrating (and perhaps through education rather than picnics, parades, baseball games, and fireworks). All thanks and appreciation to our military. But we already have Memorial Day (for those who gave their lives in service) and Veterans Day (for those who have served). Let’s leave today a day to celebrate our founding, not our current military excursions, as too many of the celebrations seem to be about.