Independent from what?
The Fourth of July today represents independence for many, but it's really more about a fight for ownership. At the origin of Independence Day is a group of wealthy colonists, from 13 different places, the colonies--which are now referred to as states but probably more exactly should have been thought of as countries then--who got together to tell the government that founded those places they were no longer going to be controlled by them. These men, who were among an elite minority group of people, wielded power over hordes of others who had no power, nor independence. And by them declaring independence for their colonies they were simply taking control of the dependent people who resided in their domain. There was a shift of ownership, but it was hardly a declaration of independence for all of us, as we are somehow led to believe today.
Fortunately it didn't stop there, and a constitution was forged by thoughtful intellectuals who would ultimately give even common people a cause to fight for their own independence as equals in a free society. But the confines of a fight for control of power and of wealth that bound those men together to declare independence from the British still binds the wealthy of this country to fight for their own share of wealth from the United States government. Republicans and Democrats alike are guilty of using political control to shift wealth from one owner unto themselves, and in the wake of such institutional greed common people continue to drown in a system that favors patriarchy and disregards the poor. Spewing rhetoric about the rights of man makes these people feel they are fighting for the common good; everyone has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but not to equal access to healthcare, and certainly not equal access to capital.
Last night, on my way home from work at a sleazy bar in Fort Lauderdale, where I spend 5 hours a week keeping hustlers and panhandlers from bothering patrons who can afford to drown the miseries of their wealth in buckets of liquor and beer, I looked the other way as the legless beggar at the southbound I-95 Kennedy Causeway exit hurriedly wheeled toward my car, trying to catch me and a few others before the light turned green. With car insurance and rent due, with my cell phone cut off and bill collectors sending me ever brighter colored envelopes, I felt I couldn't afford to turn his way, even though I knew I couldn't afford not to. I wanted to empty my pockets for him, but he would've been satisfied with a quarter. I'm certainly not satisfied with having done nothing. But it was Independence Day, and I was counting on the Mercedes S-Class of people to do their part. Maybe they don't want to help me in this next election by voting for a politician who might persuade Congress to do something about its years-long negligence of the subcompact-car-driving, parttime-job-working set. But with their amount of excess even they can't ignore such roadside displays of human degradation. Can they?
Fortunately it didn't stop there, and a constitution was forged by thoughtful intellectuals who would ultimately give even common people a cause to fight for their own independence as equals in a free society. But the confines of a fight for control of power and of wealth that bound those men together to declare independence from the British still binds the wealthy of this country to fight for their own share of wealth from the United States government. Republicans and Democrats alike are guilty of using political control to shift wealth from one owner unto themselves, and in the wake of such institutional greed common people continue to drown in a system that favors patriarchy and disregards the poor. Spewing rhetoric about the rights of man makes these people feel they are fighting for the common good; everyone has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but not to equal access to healthcare, and certainly not equal access to capital.
Last night, on my way home from work at a sleazy bar in Fort Lauderdale, where I spend 5 hours a week keeping hustlers and panhandlers from bothering patrons who can afford to drown the miseries of their wealth in buckets of liquor and beer, I looked the other way as the legless beggar at the southbound I-95 Kennedy Causeway exit hurriedly wheeled toward my car, trying to catch me and a few others before the light turned green. With car insurance and rent due, with my cell phone cut off and bill collectors sending me ever brighter colored envelopes, I felt I couldn't afford to turn his way, even though I knew I couldn't afford not to. I wanted to empty my pockets for him, but he would've been satisfied with a quarter. I'm certainly not satisfied with having done nothing. But it was Independence Day, and I was counting on the Mercedes S-Class of people to do their part. Maybe they don't want to help me in this next election by voting for a politician who might persuade Congress to do something about its years-long negligence of the subcompact-car-driving, parttime-job-working set. But with their amount of excess even they can't ignore such roadside displays of human degradation. Can they?
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