The Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is a great time to think about America, and what is good about it. It is a time of celebration, so the focus should be on what is good about America. There is a lot to celebrate. There really is a lot to celebrate, which is why I think it is important to get beyond the narrow parade mentality. There is more to celebrate than veterans, firemen, and Boy Scouts. Democracy isn’t just built in times of war or protected from fire. It is built in the classroom, on the farm, in the courtroom, and in the artist’s studio. It is protected in those places and in the offices of newspaper reporters and social workers. Why can’t we have teachers or lawyers in our parades? They may not get as many cheers as WWII vets, but maybe that’s because they don’t have a float. It isn’t because they don’t traffic in heroism. The bottom line is that there is a time for flag waving … but we just need to make sure that when we indulge in flag waving, we are waving it in all the right directions.