Scoot: American hate and dissent: what do we celebrate this 4th of July?

America is defined today by the deep-rooted hate we feel for each other. Even the American flag has come to represent right-wing Americans who see the flag as a flag that represents their specific brand of conservatism, rather than the entire country. Americans are judging each other by their political opinions instead of by the common bonds of just being Americans. Never before in modern times has America been so divided. So, what do we actually celebrate this 4th of July?

The disagreements Americans have over political and social issues are riddled with a new hateful contempt for each other.  Americans can’t agree on how this country started and the spirit that prevailed with our Founding Fathers.  There is a faction of Americans who are invading privacy and are hell-bent on telling other Americans how to live and how to raise their children.  The incredible reaction to just the sheer mention of a Naked Bike Ride sends people scrambling for their phones to call radio talk shows or racing to their keyboards to rant about the devastation that such an event will have on children and society in general.  Yet, none of the most vocal individuals can seem to explain exactly what the negative manifestations of seeing naked people will have on the country.

Locally and nationally, being a convicted felon no longer disqualifies someone from office, in fact, being a convicted felon in the minds of those who support that candidate can be seen as a badge of honor.  True facts are no longer true facts.  Facts are now anything any American chooses to believe are facts, and it’s impossible to have a rational argument with anyone who does not accept the actual facts.

Criticizing inflation has become more of a political exercise than a sincere concern because with all of the complaining about how bad inflation is Americans are traveling at record numbers during this 4th of July 2024.  If you can’t afford the increases in the price of bacon or eggs, how can you afford a vacation?

Rage in America is evident everywhere - on the roads and now in the sky.  The incidents of “air rage” have increased dramatically and can be sparked by something as simple as a passenger failing to use the right pronoun while addressing a flight attendant.  But most of the “air rage” comes from passengers who feel like they have been slighted in some way.

So, how do we actually celebrate this 4th of July in America?

All Americans should take a moment to recognize that even the most passionate arguing over political ideology is not as dire as the arguing parties may think.  Regardless of who wins the election in November, life for each individual American will essentially not change.  If your candidate wins - you can celebrate and rejoice, but your life will not significantly change.  If your candidate loses, life will go on.  Americans have created a life-and-death scenario to their candidate winning and both sides are predicting that if their candidate doesn’t win democracy will die and we will enter WW3.  Maybe the celebration of this 4th of July should recognize how ridiculous that sounds.

In the context of an America defined by so much hate, every American should realize the rights we have and, ironically, it is the very freedoms we are granted in America that has actually created the hate.  I’m not saying we should celebrate the hate, but we should celebrate the freedom we have to take politics to such extremes.  But we should also recognize that we should be able to have deeply passionate arguments about politics without the hate and the personal attacks on our fellow Americans.

Americans should reflect on the spirit upon which this country was built and think about whether our Founding Fathers would be proud of what we have done with the freedoms they gave us.

This country is taking many things to extremes and we have done this before.  But when we seem to reach the edge - we have a tendency to pull back.  It’s obvious we are very close to the edge.  As individual Americans, only WE have the ability to promote a retreat from the edge.  But will we?

Happy Birthday, America!