Skipping Independence

First, apologies for the extra email in your inbox - when I started this newsletter I promised you no more than two a month - but I felt compelled to write, so here we are.

I’m skipping the Fourth of July.

The holiday, not the literal date. I wouldn’t waste time travel on that.

I feel far from patriotic this year. This is the most detached from the flag-waving and red, white & blue of the Fourth that I’ve ever been (and I’m old enough to have voted for John Kerry).

However, I do feel strong nostalgia towards the holiday.

Growing up, some of my happiest memories revolved around the 4th of July, particularly at my grandma’s little cabin in the woods. The “town” where the cabin was located was a sleepy population of 101, so the 4th of July parade was held in the next town over, which boasted a bustling 150 people. The parade consisted of a handful of veterans, a few classic cars, local farmers and ranchers, and fire vehicles from all over the county (if there wasn’t an active fire, and in the early 90’s, there were noticeably fewer). The same guy MC’d the parade since the 70’s and they always played the same recording of Souza’s Stars & Stipes forever. One year, my little brother and I, covered in streamers, rode our bikes in the parade (little brother had a need for speed that kept my dad on his toes). The parade was so small that it circled the block twice just so everyone felt like they got a bit more bang for their buck.

The post parade festival had the classics: strawberry shortcake, a dunk tank, grilled burgers & dogs, ring toss. One year, they had a car you could wail on with a sledgehammer (60 seconds for $1) to raise money for the VFD or Rotary or something (I don’t really know why - I was young and there was a shirtless guy breaking stuff with a hammer - I was distracted). But most importantly, it was the biggest and most consistent gathering of my extended family outside of Thanksgiving. The whole day was devoted to family and community, which was as it should be.

My feelings about this holiday are also tied up in pop culture, specifically two of my un-ironic all-time favorite movies: Independence Day & Jaws. And recently I got to thinking about how those movies represent the holiday, and America in general.

Independence Day is the ideal of the holiday. In it, humanity faces a true, undeniable existential threat and responds by uniting against a shared enemy, rising together and shrugging off the petty differences that divided humanity. Iraqi & Israeli pilots are shown sharing an airfield (with the British of all people). A black Marine & a Jewish nerd save the world. And the President, after the most inspiring speech in film history, jumps right into a cockpit alongside his fellow humans. All of these things are what the 4th of July is supposed to represent - unity, cooperation, bravery, ingenuity, and ultimately, freedom.

Jaws is the reality of what the 4th of July is to most Americans. It’s a time of vacation, cookouts, swimming, and patriotic bunting, all against the backdrop of crass commercialism, capitalism, and conspicuous consumption (in Jaws represented by the Worst Mayor in America, who serves his constituents and tourists alike to an enormous Great White shark). This is what the 4th has become - consumption, destruction, and the hollow words of slimy politicians.

Independence Day is what America strives to be, or at least, what it should strive to be.

Jaws is what America is - a beachful of Americans being fed to an eating machine, a Monster that consumes all before it, be they women, children, the working class, or veterans.

That is, until the Monster is defeated.

If you’re enjoying the company of friends and family today, I’m happy for you & I am not judging you even a little bit. Community, after all, is what today should be about. And ain’t no one here gonna shame you for eating a hotdog today (guess what I had for lunch).

Remember: Don’t drink and drive (including boats), don’t set anything on fire (including yourself), and keep the words of President Whitmore in your heart.

Stay safe, stay strong, stay out of the ocean.

The Dork Knight

“We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: ‘We will not go quietly into the night!’ We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!”

- President Thomas Whitmore