Friends,
Summer is here. I can’t drive more than a mile without seeing a fireworks stand advertising ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ or 70% off one item if you spend over $250.00. Now, this is not to say I won’t stop. Of course I will. Most stands are run by local non-profits that spend the whole week raising money for a worthwhile cause.
If you walk into Walmart, the aisles are filled with red, white, and blue paper plates, t-shirts that say ‘American Made,’ and a thousand other little things that tempt you into buying $400.00 worth of non-essentials so that you can prove you are ‘patriotic.’
Don’t forget the three weeks’ worth of hot dogs and hamburgers. No party is complete unless we have a competition to see who can fly the frozen meat patty the farthest. And when the hell did hot dogs become a staple of this holiday? Who was the first person who said, ‘you know what screams independence? Mechanically separated poultry sprinkled with salt, garlic, paprika, and sodium nitrite.’
Has it always been about money?
Now let’s get into the holiday where we celebrate our independence from a rich and powerful country that wanted to take our money for their own profit by giving our little bit of disposable cash to rich and powerful companies that want to take our money for their own profit.
Totally makes sense how that worked out.
But the question remains: did we separate from the ‘mother country’ just for the money? Yeah, we did. After 176 years of British rule, the colonists decided to fight back against the English parliament, which was treating the hard-working men and women of the colonies as if they were the owners of a used-car dealership. Parliament sold us the dream of driving a Porsche, but after we signed the papers, they gave us a broken-down Toyota Corolla.
Myths surrounding the 4th of July.
One of the questions I like to ask during drinking games is, ‘When did this country become officially recognized as the ‘United States of America?’
Go on. I’ll wait. And no using Google. I’ll give you a hint. It wasn’t the 4th of July.
Give up? Don’t worry- I did, too, the first time I was asked that question. It wasn’t until 9 September 1776.
Hell, the Declaration of Independence wasn’t even signed on 4 July. John Hancock’s signature didn’t make the headlines until August, and even then, it took until November before everyone signed their lives away on a hope and a prayer.
I am sorry to tell you that the Liberty Bell didn’t crack on 4 July either. Now, while the famous ‘Independence’ party did happen, the bell was already broken. It had actually been cracked since its arrival in 1752, and no matter how many times they tried to fix it, the quick fixes never held.
What was the real cost of freedom?
While we may think of the 4th of July as a break from English rule and the establishment of a new government governed ‘By the people for the people,’ I would argue that at its beginning, it wasn’t just a celebration.
It was a reminder.
In 1776, the colonies had only 2.5 million people living within their borders. Out of those 2.5 million, a little over 25,000 died. Now that might not seem like much, but it was a reduction of about 1% in the number of able-bodied men and women supporting their families.
Here’s where the statistics get even worse. Out of those 25,000 souls, only about 6,800 died in combat- the rest died from disease or while on British prison ships and camps. Not everyone died. As we have learned over and over again, death numbers are not the only cost of war.
It is estimated that 25,000 Patriots made it home seriously wounded or disabled. And at a time when we didn’t understand the mental trauma of war, I am pretty sure those numbers would go up if we had tracked PTSD cases.
Pockets were hit hard, too.
At a time when we, as a country, were coming down from the high of winning a war against a powerful Navy and a well-trained Army, we quickly realized that rebuilding and establishing a new government wouldn’t be all sunshine and rainbows.
The Revolutionary War cost the United States approximately $400 million. To put that in perspective, $1.00 in 1776 equals about $36.95 today, according to the CPI Inflation Calculator.
Final Thoughts.
I promise I didn’t write this blog to bring down the party. I actually thought long and hard about how I would present my thoughts on the 4th of July. What it boils down to for me is that holidays have gotten commercial. We have become a nation that puts more thought into themed parties and expensive fireworks displays than into the reason we celebrate.
It’s the same for all holidays. This one just hits a little harder for me because we are celebrating the outcome of a war. A war that tore this country in half and left countless families on the brink of financial ruin. A war that every city has at least one gravestone to memorialize a family member who never came home.
That was the true cost of this holiday.
As you light that first firework, could you do me a favor? Perhaps take a moment of silence to remember those who gave their lives, so we can celebrate the fact that we live in a country where we have the freedom to be the best version of ourselves.
Until next time, Keep Reading and Stay Caffeinated.
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America is free when we celebrate humanity. When we showcase the best of our humanity. It’s removing our hats when the hearse goes by, it’s protecting our national parks, it’s guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier. It’s free museums; because history belongs to everyone. It’s standing on sidewalks watching parades, it’s ice cream cones and watermelon. The best thing about being American is being an American. So, I stand and say a humble thank you to those who gave their lives for freedom.