Jeff and I spent July 4th weekend at the home of our friends Luis Ubinas and Deb Tolman (and their spectacular sons Max and Ben) in Weston, Vermont. On the 4th itself, Luis and Deb took us over to their neighbors, a gay couple, for a cookout. About 100 people were there.
In the midst of the party, the hosts quieted everyone and had a local radio announcer read the entire Declaration of Independence aloud. I listened to the Declaration’s ringing defense of the rights of the common person against governmental tyranny and looked around at the attendees, some of whom came from families whose forbearers had fought in the 1777 Battle of Bennington (a turning point in the Revolution) just a few miles away. I was struck by their attentiveness. It was the first time I had been to a July 4th celebration where we actually revisited the reason we have the holiday in the first place. People actually quit eating and drinking and listened to the words that inspired the creation of our nation. I was moved beyond words.
I couldn’t help but think that, in large parts of America, this very gathering, hosted by homosexuals, would be automatically deemed ”un-American.” At these other gatherings, where people stuff their faces and bellow Lee Greenwood’s inane “God Bless the USA” song which seems to have replaced the “Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America” in many parts as the favored patriotic song (perhaps because of its profound lines like “I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free” — well, good for you, Lee! But isn’t being an American about spreading freedom, not torturing people in Guanatanmo? The fact that this is the first thing that comes to mind when the citizens of other countries think about mine doesn’t leave me feeling so proud to be an American these days…), I doubt anyone’s reading the Declaration of Independence aloud.
So who is truly a patriot? Who truly is committed to the ideals our country is founded upon? The answer’s obvious and no amount of flag waving can hide it. It’s not the people who think it’s OK to torture nor those who think it’s OK to deny equal rights to their fellow citizens because, in their twisted reading of the Bible, the Good Book seems to suggest they should.
Next 4th, I urge my fellow citizens to put aisde their SuperSize fries and read the original Declaration aloud. Make your kids set aside their GameBoys and pay attention. Maybe the example of our forbearers standing up to the tyrants of their day will shame we, their descendants, into standing up to the tyrants who run large parts of our govenment today.