Some thoughts on Independence Day

Earlier today while browsing Facebook, I saw a status along the lines of "Happy Independence Day! We must remember those of us who keep America free", tagging a swathe of that person's friends who were in the military. I was a little annoyed by the (inaccurate at this point) idea that troops overseas or at home are fighting for our freedom and decided to write about it. By the time I got through, it still included that complaint but in essence is a rant against what I consider to be fake patriotism.

Today we denizens of the United States celebrate our independence from an oppressive colonial empire through barbecues, pool parties, fireworks, and more. “But”, some may say, “we need to remember those who keep us free from tyranny to this day.” Who could they be referring to? The teachers fostering the next generation of leaders and thinkers? Doubtful. Perhaps they mean every citizen who went to the polls last November to make their voice heard on the direction they want America to take? Of course they don’t. They’re inevitably referring to the military—not the Continental Army which actually liberated America (with help from the French and Spanish and Dutch, of course) from Great Britain, but the current United States Armed Forces.

Let it be established that I hold no ill will towards enlisted men and women. The overwhelming majority are good people who should be respected for their bravery and sacrifice; by no means is military service a walk in the park. However, the claim that they are the one thing between us and dictatorship is a false one, not a lie so much as ignorance of American politics and our place within the greater context of world politics. However, an uninformed (or worse, misinformed) populace combined with unquestioning shows of support for “the troops” are reflective of mentalities that time and time again have proven toxic to democracy and beneficial to the powerful.

Certainly the claim that our troops are protecting us from tyranny has not always been without water. Less than 40 years after the Revolution, we faced a second war against the British Empire during which our capital city was burned to the ground. Our union was almost torn apart by the Slaveholders’ Rebellion, and we provided both manpower and weapons in fighting and destroying the Axis, possibly the most despicable political entity in history and one which openly sought to conquer and enslave the world. But are the stakes still so high? Are we fighting to protect our own freedom in Afghanistan? Were we in Iraq, or Libya, or Vietnam? If not, what were and are we fighting for?

In fairness, self-preservation is not the only justification for war. Though the September 11th attacks may not have posed a threat to the existence of the United States as we know it, we were attacked by terrorists trained in and harbored by the Taliban regime, and nearly all agree we had the right to retaliate. But given that our greatest geopolitical foes right now are Iran and North Korea, and that all-out war with a potentially more dangerous great power like China or Russia would probably spell global economic collapse, we probably aren’t in too much danger of destruction by foreign armies.

Perhaps, given the current controversies over the NSA and the PATRIOT Act, we face more danger to our freedom from within than from outside our borders. Though it would be silly to say that these alone make us the same as North Korea or Nazi Germany, some slopes are slippery. Chances are the United States will remain a representative democracy for the foreseeable future, but the possibility exists and we must be at least aware of the shifting political wings, if not vigilant. Historically, the greatest threat to freedom is when we allow emotion, not reason, to sit in the driver’s seat. It was seen in the aftermath of 9/11, when in our patriotic fervor we readily accepted possibly unconstitutional surveillance measures passed by Congress with massive bipartisan majorities and signed by President Bush. The capital Bush gained from the attacks arguably benefitted him for the whole of his first term, including in pushing the US to war with Iraq, a nation which had roughly nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks and we now know did not harbor weapons of mass destruction.

What makes this scary? Well, those who spoke out against or even questioned the merits of the war were labeled “unpatriotic” and accused of not “supporting the troops”, as if those who supported sending American men and women to die based on a lie were supporting them. This mentality, one of rallying around symbols like the Stars and Stripes instead of around concepts liberty and democracy, one of blindly and loudly supporting the actions of one’s country (especially its military), one of suppressing dissent and protest as unpatriotic, is one that many a would-be dictator has latched onto. Too many supposed men of the people have cynically exploited the dumber and more emotional voters to gain power, and if a nation is blindly behind them, find that they can abuse that power.

It is often said that dissent is the highest form of patriotism, and I would concur. If we truly wish to see a more perfect Union, we must be active and informed citizens, whether or not one supports one candidate or another or whether or not one approves of the president. Those who blindly follow and shoot down dissent are not patriots; they are cowards of the highest degree, hiding behind our flag and our troops to avoid independent thought. It was that philosophy, the power to dissent, the will to improve this nation, which America was founded on. This Independence day, along with hot dogs and fireworks, keep in mind not just superficial American traits like the flag or the military, but those principles that made us free and keep us free.

Thoughts? I was also wondering if I should do anything with it as opposed to just letting it sit on Atlas.

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