In a couple of months, America will celebrate its 250th birthday. With his usual bad taste, Donald Trump has planned a mixed martial arts fight on the White House lawn, a Gran Prix car race around the National Mall, and given orders to put his own ugly face on U.S. passports and commemorative coins. What a party!
But how should our nation observe the anniversary of its founding, honestly and proudly?
First, by acknowledging that there was no magic date when the original thirteen colonies became a democracy. Economic boycotts against King George and even military skirmishes started well before 1776. The Constitution didn’t come until eleven years later. And amendments over the next two centuries granting blacks and women the right to vote edged the nation closer to its expressed ideal that all people are created equal. What more is needed? Today we must change the system so that ordinary citizens have the same clout as billionaires and corporations in choosing our nation’s leaders and shaping policy. The Constitution was ratified to “promote the general welfare,” rather than solely the welfare of oligarchs and fat cats.
We could ask ourselves: what might be the modern equivalent of a Boston Tea Party? Back then, our predecessors revolted against the surcharge on importing daily necessities. Now, we should revolt against King Trump’s illegal tariffs and avoid trading with merchants (e.g. Amazon, Home Depot, PayPal) that profit from their insider connections with the White House. The American Revolution was in large part a tax revolt. (No taxation without representation.) Today we should rebel against a regime where the ultra-wealthy pay virtually nothing in taxes compared to middle-class and working-class families. We are not here to suubsidize the lifestyles of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. Everyone must contribute their fair share.
Americans should remember above all that our Revolution came about through organizing. Paul Revere wasn’t a lone horseman. He was commissioned by the Boston Committee of Correspondence, an ad hoc and probably illegal assemblage of freedom-minded citizens seeking to share information and coordinate resistance against their Mad King. When the Minutemen received the call that Redcoats (or ICE agents) were marching against their communities, they had plans already in place. They could respond at a moment’s notice. They were not left to fend for themselves. They had come together in common cause to discuss, deliberate and agree how to best protect their liberty. Before it was gone.
Almost by definition, democracy is not a solo sport. It exists only in relationship with our neighbors and fellow citizens. It is a communal exercise. If you are alarmed by the state of our deteriorating republic, please consider getting involved with others working to save “government of the people, by the people.” Join Indivisible, or the League of Women Voters, or the NAACP, or another organization dedicated to strengthening free elections and participatory. grassroots governance.
Back then, no one believed that a ragtag bunch of farmers had a chance against the mightiest empire on earth. Yet our Founders prevailed against all odds. We can, too, if we have courage to stick together, join hands in opposition, and refuse to bend the knee to the tyranny now approaching.
So don’t just watch the fireworks from the sidelines or spectators’ benches this July 4th. Be a firecracker. Make noise. Shed light. Be the spark that can ignite something bigger, more brilliant and powerful and hopeful. The resilience or denouement of our American experiment is in the balance. So resolve to be a bang rather than a whimper. Democracy depends on us.
