July 4th is probably Americas most favorite holiday… and with good reason! Very few “have to work”, most have the day off from their daily job, it will be a day of local or neighboring city parades, relaxing, drinking, partying, fun, games, BBQ’s, trips to the park, family reunions, children with sparklers in hand, sparkling fire cones on the streets and neighborhood firework displays all across the country! What’s not to celebrate?
No one wants’ to begrudge people for enjoying themselves… after all, all of us want what makes us happiest! Taking a day off work to play with friends, is such a nice way to do so too!
Most all know the point of this holiday is to remember Americas Declaration of Independence from Great Britain- All of us want to be free… just hold a child completely still for 5 minutes and watch their little world come to a screaming conclusion. All of us want our freedom and independence – and who can blame any of us?
But what about our dependence on one another? Are we truely independent? Do we not now play nicely with Great Britain, even Germany, Japan, Korea even the United States was fighting amongst ourselves, and now for the most part, we get along- there has never been a “true enemy” that we cannot forgive or be forgiven by and later learn to love and be friends with – just look at America! We are filled with every nationality on the planet! Perhaps we could learn the lesson sooner than later and make friends first rather than continually having to go to war and then make friends.
One day… an international holiday of Global Dependence, not independence, might be celebrated. No longer celebrating our days of defiance and separation from one another but of unification and recognition of the many things we do have in common with our global neighbors; parades, relaxing, drinking, partying, fun, games, BBQ’s, trips to the park, family reunions, children with sparklers in hand, sparkling fire cones on the streets and neighborhood firework displays all across the planet.
Each of us should be able to recognize we are human beings, not animals. We have requirements very common to all; to breathe, to eat, to sleep, we have hopes, we have dreams, we have basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, freedom and wish for personal safety and most of all, happiness in our lives. Yet when one or more of us are excluded from these inalienable rights – in a way, we all suffer because of them.
A true Independence Day will not be a day to separate ourselves from one another but to celebrate our uniqueness in all the universe. There may be others like us it is true, but no two people are ever exactly alike! You’ve heard this before but our uniqueness makes us all the same- none better nor worse than anyone else- just different experiences making us Independent from one another yet- at the same time, we are Dependent on one another for the basic needs we do have.
Happy Future Global Dependence Day!
May it one day be celebrated as true independence is intended to be.
Truly humans as a whole are dependant as in “attached to as a condition or cause” to being human with all the rights and privileges entailed. Cheers to our Human Interdependance!
“celebrate what we ‘do’ have in common.” We are all inter-connected like the ‘tree of life’ symbol. It takes a high degree of independence to enjoy inter-dependence vs. co-dependence. We are all beggars. We can enjoy individuality ‘and’ unity.