Six historic New England Fourth of July celebrations; deconstructing inherited patriotic ‘pride’
Poster for the 1942 hit movie about Providence native George M. Cohan, starring the mega movie star and part-time Martha’s Vineyard resident James Cagney
Bristol, R.I.’s 232nd Fourth of July parade, in 2017
Read here about six historic New England Fourth of July celebrations.
Adapted from Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com
Especially on “The Glorious Fourth,’’ we’re all supposed to say that we’re proud to be Americans, though most of us became citizens through the accident of birth; we didn’t choose to be here, however much we like it or not. If we had been born in another nation and stayed there, we’d probably be waving its flag and saying how “proud’’ we are to be its citizens. Call it passive pride. Or vacuous.
Of course, there are some American things to be “proud of’’’ and some to be ashamed of. I’ve never quite gotten all this “proud” stuff – “proud to have blue eyes,’’ “proud to be black and gay,” “Pride Week,’’ etc.
“Proud to exist”?
It’s one of those quirky things, such as religious believers and their clergies saying that they firmly believe that such and such dead person is heading to eternal joy in heaven even as they call the death a tragedy. And why have so many people become so afraid of death that more and more of them say someone “passed’’ instead of died? That reminds me of when writers of newspaper obituaries were warned by survivors, funeral homes and editors not to give “cancer” as the cause of death. Too scary. It was almost as if they feared using the word would give them the disease.
Like patriotism, religion is mostly inherited. If we’re born in, say, Iran we’re almost certainly Muslim, in India, Hindu, and in America, probably Christian. Not a lot of personal theological exploration going in.
I’ve never been particularly patriotic in the “my country right or wrong’’ way. Rather, I’m “proud’’ to say that I support the principles of liberal democracy and open societies that originated in Western Europe and are always under attack, including, increasingly, in the United States in the past few years.
To me, the real patriots are those who openly recognize America’s good and bad elements and try to help make the nation more just, fair and prosperous, not those who wrap themselves in flags and yell “USA! USA! USA!’’.
Don’t blow off your fingers with an illegal M-80 on Tuesday! When I was a kid, we often set off our July 4 explosives on a beach -- less chance of starting a conflagration. I still can smell the rich mingled aromas of black powder and seaweed.