Many cities will have their fireworks night again after two years. Photo: AP
Independence Day comes at a time when the United States is in turmoil over hearings on the January 6 uprising, in turmoil over high court rulings on abortion and weaponsand struggling to maintain the common bonds that hold it together.
However, many also see reasons to celebrate: The pandemic continues to decline and, despite its shortcomings, American democracy survives.
“I think a lot of us are conflicted about celebrating July 4th right now,” tweeted hurdle champion and attorney Amelia Boone as the week gave way to the long holiday weekend.
For her, patriotism also means fighting for change, she said, adding: “I’m not giving up on America.”
Undoubtedly, this feeling is shared by millions of people this Monday celebrate the nation’s 246th birthday and the anniversary of its independence from English rule.
The United States celebrates the nation’s 246th birthday and the anniversary of its independence from British rule. Photo: Stefani Reynolds / AFP
It is a day to take time off from work, watch fashion shows, devour hot dogs and hamburgers in the barbecues that are made in the gardens of the houses, and find yourself under a canopy of stars and fireworks, in many cases for the first time in three years, amid easing coronavirus precautions.
In Baltimore, for example, Independence Day celebrations are picking up after a two-year hiatus, much to the delight of residents like Steven Williams.
“I used to go there every year. Then it stopped,” Williams told WBAL-TV. “We haven’t seen her for a couple of years.”
Large and small color displays will light up the night sky of cities from New York to Seattle, Chicago and Dallas. Others, however, especially in drought-prone and fire-prone western regions, they will give them up.
Large and small color displays will light up the night sky of cities from New York to Seattle, Chicago and Dallas. Photo: AP
Phoenix will also do without fireworks, not because of the pandemic or the fires, but because of supply chain problems.
In emotional ceremonies across the country, some new residents will take the oath of citizenship, which will allow them to vote for the first time in the next mid-term elections.
precarious times
Decidedly, these are precarious times: The economic downturn looms and the national psyche is still raw from mass shootings like those recently at a Texas elementary school and New York supermarket.
Recent Supreme Court decisions overturning the constitutional right to abortion and overturning a New York law restricting the carrying of guns in public highlighted deep social and political divisions.
But for many, the 4th of July is also an opportunity to put aside political differences and celebrate unity, reflecting on the revolution it has generated. the longest democracy in history.
The United States, the longest-running democracy in history in turbulent times. Photo: Armend Nimani / AFP
Eli Merritt, a political historian at Vanderbilt University whose next book examines the tense founding of the United States in 1776, said that “There is always something that divides us or unites us”.
However, he sees the hearings on January 6, in which last year’s assault on Capitol Hill is analyzed, as a cause for hope, an opportunity to support democratic institutions.
While not all Americans or their elected representatives agree with the commission’s work, Merritt is encouraged that at least they do somewhat bipartisanwith the participation of some Republicans.
“Moral courage is where Americans place their hope,” he said, “the willingness to stand up for what is right and true despite negative consequences for themselves. It is an essential element of constitutional democracy.”
By Bobby Caina Calvin, Associated Press
ap
Source: Clarin
