The Fizzling of the Fourth of July

I have never felt less like celebrating July Fourth. The nation is a mere shadow of its former self, and it has little to do with this current presidential administration, though the White House and Congress aren't helping much. The problem is our collective lifestyle, our beliefs, and our attitudes. Frankly, we do not deserve a big party.

The official name for the holiday is Independence Day, and the fact of the matter is we have never been more dependent in our daily lives. Facebook goes down and you would think it is the apocalypse. Drop your smart phone and your digital life is over. No big deal, but we forget we are flesh and blood, heart and soul. We cannot separate our real lives from the electronic facsimile. Our avatar is who we are now. Pay no attention to the man standing physically before you.

Meanwhile, we have failed to learn skills that should be universal: cooking, basic home repairs, mending and altering clothing, balancing your checkbook, gardening. If the grid fails, if one of the four corporations responsible for food distribution goes bankrupt, we will be panic-stricken. Sheer mayhem will ensue. How is that independence, self-reliance, or even behaving reasonably, when you have abdicated your personal responsibilities and allowed yourself to become dependent on others to fill all of your needs?

At the same time we are willingly relinquishing control of our lives, we are at an all time low in our trust of other people. Businesses are out to scam us, the government is taxing us into oblivion, and criminals of one kind or another are lurking everywhere. The church is full of pedophiles, and we don't think much better of the Boy Scouts, and other historically trustworthy organizations we used to send our kids to. We have become isolated and overly dependent at the same time. Products, from guns to alcohol, and services are offered as the only solutions to our problems, when our problems stem from our paranoid minds and our lifestyle choices. You are agreeing with me because you do not see your own lifestyle choices as destructive.

Convenience is king now, and we will happily ignore all kinds of unethical business practices if it means we can get candy on the cheap, whenever we want it. Our coping skills are addictions, available twenty-four seven at the corner Walmart, or online with one keystroke. We are prisoners of our choices, unable to see healthier alternatives. We would rather Facetime than be face-to-face with each other, truly present in the moment. It is more convenient to press a key, flip a switch, turn a machine on, ask Alexa.

We are all guilty, to differing degrees, but to paint ourselves as superior to others is just another facet of the same diamond of destructive indulgence. We are nothing if not self-righteous, and we go to great lengths to reinforce it. Is my blogging a way of stroking my own ego? I would like to think not, but I should be acutely aware of the potential. We are asleep too much of the time, too preoccupied, oblivious, dismissive, willfully ignorant. Our culture is pulsive: impulsive, compulsive, repulsive.

We talk much about the kind of world we want for future generations, but I suspect that our founding fathers would barely recognize the United States. Do we not owe as much to previous generations as those yet to be born? Some strides have been great, but we have replaced slavery with alternative forms of racism and oppression including mass incarceration of "minorities," voter suppression, and all manner of discriminatory practices in all our human institutions. Our patriarchy still barely tolerates women.

We are not locked into our current patterns of behavior, as individuals nor as a society. We are no longer purely instinctual animals, though we are animals. The thing that sets us apart from other creatures is our ability to change our minds, and with that our actions. The devil we know is the devil that will kill us unless we take that leap of faith into the "what if" of good deeds, and the substitution of experience for the material goods we cling to presently. Don't wait, don't follow, but lead by example.

The fireworks will still go off tonight, the band will play on, and too many of us will wave our flags mindlessly. Fine. Tomorrow, once the party is over, make a point to give your life meaning. Weed the garden of your heart and soul.

Freedom

Here it is, July 4, Independence Day in the U.S.A. Last Sunday, the pastor at our Lutheran Church gave a sermon entitled “Freedom,” and it got me thinking. We are indeed “free” in many ways, but I also believe we have a long way to go to be free as individuals and as a society.

Pastor Dave (Hall) was astute in recognizing that most of us are still enslaved by our jobs, our debts, our addictions, and other self-imposed limitations. We have freedom of choice, but too often our choices are not in our best interest, at least not in the long term. We are still too concerned with keeping up appearances, and often go into debt to create the impression that we are doing just fine economically. Privately, we worry about the credit monster we have created, and perhaps take up an addiction to help us cope.

Are we not also slaves of politics, our employers, the marketplace, even religion? Do we cling tightly to pre-conceived notions, stereotypes, and outdated beliefs because we fear change or feel threatened by the different beliefs of others? Do we keep working at a job we cannot stand because we must have the paycheck and health insurance coverage? Newsflash: Your employer is not going to be loyal to you if the shareholders or board of directors demand cost-cutting changes.

I think being free means taking risks, thinking outside the box (or cubicle or condo), keeping an open mind, and nurturing empathy. It means sacrifice, deciding what material things you can do without. Freedom in essence, then, is what our society claims to value, but which culture also does everything in its power to stifle.

Freedom is what this very blog is all about: Celebrating alternative landscapes, alternative energy, public transportation, continuing education, public discourse on meaningful subjects. Do I always practice what I preach? Of course not. No one is perfect, but that is not the point. Finding out what works for you is what freedom should be about, even if it flies in the face of convention. Especially if it flies in the face of convention.

Go out this evening and enjoy yourself. Indulge in a baseball game and eat food that is bad for you. My wife and I are going to do so ourselves. We have collectively earned the right to celebrate. Tomorrow, give yourself, your family, friends, and the country a reason to be optimistic about the future. Change what doesn’t work for you and encourage others to be fearless in pursuing their own destiny.

The only thing we should be a slave to is God’s (however you define that) purpose for our lives. You’ll know it because you won’t be able to turn away from it, even if it isn’t the most popular road to success. Especially if it isn’t a popular road. Take care, but take up your cause.

Happy Earth Day!

Everybody now: “Happy Earth Day to you….Happy Earth Day to you….Happy Earth Day dear plan-et….Happy Earth Day to you (and many more)!” What does this occasion mean to you? We don’t get the day off to celebrate, but is there really a more important “holiday?” At one point I was making and sending Earth Day greeting cards to friends and family. Think Hallmark would like to latch on to that idea?

Everyone knows the history of Earth Day, that the first one occurred on April 22, 1970, at the height of the environmental movement. It experienced a bit of a renaissance with the 20th anniversary celebration in 1990, and hasn’t slowed down too much since.

I wonder, however, if the meaning of Earth Day has not changed drastically since its inaugural debut. The first one seemed to stem, in part, from a genuine concern for the welfare of other species and the habitats that support them, while today’s Earth Day is steeped in self-centeredness rather than altruism. Things have deteriorated globally to a point where there is serious concern for the welfare of our own species, Homo sapiens. We still covet mostly the cute and cuddly endangered species, and yet refuse to acknowledge that we, too, are animals. Looming over everything is the specter of global climate change, which seems to be accelerating as we speak.

Another aspect of Earth Day that has changed radically is the commercialization of the day. Most local events are supported financially by institutions and companies seeking to raise their own profile or improve customer relations, whether they are truly “green” or just greenwashing. Here in Tucson there are at least two large public events. A grassroots version was initiated a few years ago to protest the official city event, sponsored by Raytheon, a large local Department of Defense contractor known mostly for its manufacture of missile systems. How can the irony of that escape anybody?

Please, share your own sentiments, good and bad. Tell me how you practice “Earth Day every day,” as the slogan goes. I look forward to learning from you.