Independence Day is out! It’s so 239 years ago. America is not “number one” and we need to avoid any celebration of “bombs bursting in air” this July 4th. We now need three days to celebrate not our independence, but our dependence on the rest of the world.
Feeling sick yet? As Rabbi Michael Lerner wrote for the Huffington Post, “we need to reframe the celebrations this July 3-5 weekend.” How? As “Inter-Dependence Day,” of course!
That icky old holiday smacks of “‘othering’ someone or some group.” Who cares if their invading armies seek to deny you your freedom and hire foreign mercenaries to fight you? Just remember “we want to affirm those people, animals, the earth, and even the split-off parts of our inner psyches that we have denied and repressed).
The spiritual progressive rabbi did concede that “there is much to celebrate in the goodness of this wonderful country.” Then he proceeded to do his best not celebrating it. Of course, the legalization of gay marriage topped his short list of reasons to rejoice. It was “a victory for all of us who want fundamental transformations toward a world of love and justice.”
No matter that it will “other” believing Christians. Consistency doesn’t matter to liberals.
However, we are not yet at that “world of love and justice,” so don’t get caught up in the barbeques and fireworks, said Lerner. “We should be relentless in pushing forward a vision of a society freed from its racism” and be “critical of what needs to be changed.” Thus, Lerner and his fellow progressives invite you to add some “songs affirming the humanity of all on our planet” to your party.
The rabbi has more event-planning ideas. He suggests that the “central focus” of your celebration could be “our interdependence with the earth and its 7 billion people.” Yet, Americans ought to celebrate with solemnity, “even as we mourn for the ways that our global capitalist economy and the values of materialism, endless growth and ‘looking out for number one’ is systematically destroying the life-support system of Earth.” Got it?
Does “recognizing our connection to all other beings” strike a cord with you? If so, Lerner asks that you “let [him] know what you tried and what works when you invite people to participate.”
Happy Inter-Dependence Day(s)!
