Happy 4th of July...Yup I said it
Let's Begin...
As I do with with my own students, I'll start off with some definitions:
Liberty noun
1. Freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.
2.
Freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.
3.
Freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction,
hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according
to choice.
4.
Freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint: The prisoner soon
regained his liberty.
5.
Permission granted to a sailor, especially in the navy, to go ashore.
Freedom noun
1.
The state of being free
or at liberty rather than in confinement or under
physical restraint: He won his freedom after a retrial.
2.
Exemption from external control,
interference, regulation, etc.
3.
The power to determine action without restraint.
4.
Political or national independence.
5.
Personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery: a slave who bought
his freedom.
Free adjective
1.
Enjoying personal rights or liberty,
as a person who is not in slavery: a land of free people.
2.
Pertaining to or reserved for those who enjoy personal liberty: They were thankful to
be living on free soil.
3.
Existing under, characterized by, or possessing civil and
political liberties that are, as a rule, constitutionally guaranteed by representative government: the free nations of
the world.
4.
Enjoying political autonomy,
as a people or country not under foreign rule; independent.
5. Exempt
from external authority, interference, restriction, etc., as a person or one's will, thought, choice,
action, etc.;independent; unrestricted.
Out of these definitions, I understand "liberty" to be a false state of being free as it is intrinsically something that can be taken away from an outside force. To be free is something that is independent from outside forces, it is a state of self-actualization. The interesting factor in this is that all three of these words are used interchangeably in modern vernacular and conversation. The very concept of being "free" has been corroded by the jaded attitudes of the shortfalls of America. Yes, America and the western world has screwed everyone, every group. Yes, it is true. However, simply looking and concentrating on negativity and never seeing the positive, even if only in theory is not balanced at all. In fact it is just as bad as those who blindly cling to the Patriotic nostalgia and propaganda espoused by the popular media on both sides.
"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do."
Positive Facts...
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...." -The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was issued on July 4, 1776 to England to announce the succession of the "United States". It was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson as a summary of political policy for the new US. Due to the Declaration of Independence, American then fought in the American Revolution which secured our complete succession from England. It then took 15 years before the country would come out with the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the constitution). The Constitution guides American society in law and political culture. It is the oldest charter of supreme law in continuous use, and it influenced later international figures establishing their own constitutions. In fact, countries such as Haiti, France, Mexico, the Philippines, China etc. have all been influenced by the principals as explained in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Furthermore its influence from 1898-1918, after the Spanish American War, nationalist movements borrowed from the U.S. Constitution in Asia and Latin America and from 1918-1945, after World War I, its influence spread with movements for decolonization of Africa, Mid-east and Asia.
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| Order of independence of African nations 1950-199 |
Honestly, I spend much of my time outlining the atrocities that have been done in the name of America. From the Maafa, to Native American genocide, to foreign imperialistic endeavors, America has truly committed atrocities of the highest form, so many in fact that even contemplating writing about all of them is numbing. So, rather tan re-write about information that is already readily available, I'll include some links to outside sources for those who are already unaware.
Mindless Falsehoods...
Over the past month I have seen many pictures floating around the Internet that were both pro and anti America. They were so appalling because they were so blatantly false. These two I just wanted to mention outright and dispel the dangerous myths in their tracks.
Abraham Lincoln Freed the Slaves
Abraham Lincoln DID NOT free the slaves out of his love for African people!!
"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views." -Abraham Lincoln, December 1, 1862, Message to Congress
That should really just be self explanitory & not need further explination. But, for good measure...it was a political move in attempts to create disharmony in the confederacy and give the union an advantage in the war. In actuality Lincoln was an advocate of the American Colonization Society program of colonizing blacks back in Liberia once the war was over. He
even looked into colonizing Île à Vache
off the coast of Haiti for former slaves
The "Original" Statue of Liberty
It has been floating around for some time now, but it is completely FALSE! This rumor has been dispelled since September of 2000.
The statue, was a gift to the United States from the people of France, and is a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed July 4, 1776.
Edouard de Laboulaye (a French law professor and politician) was a prolific
French abolitionist who believed that the end of slavery marked the realization
of the American democratic ideal embodied in the Declaration of Independence.
The statue's design almost certainly evolved from an earlier concept
Bartholdi proposed for a colossal monument in Egypt, for which the artist used
his drawings of Egyptian women as models. Bartholdi’s preliminary design for
the Statue of Liberty is consistent with contemporary depictions of Liberty….There
is no evidence that Bartholdi's “original” design was perceived by white
American supporters or the United States government as representing a black
woman, or was changed on those grounds.
Most versions of
the Black Statue of Liberty rumor refer to a cast (c. 1870) of a no longer
extant maquette owned by the Museum of the City of New York as proof that “the
original model” for the Statue of Liberty was a black woman. Based on the
evidence, the connection is coincidental to the development of the Statue of
Liberty under Laboulaye’ patronage. We found no corroborating evidence that
Edouard Laboulaye or Auguste Bartholdi intended to depict Liberty as a black
woman. Laboulaye’s intent was to present a monument that would commemorate the
fulfillment of America’s commitment to universal liberty established by the
Declaration of Independence, and set an example for other nations. Liberty
depicted as a freed woman would have represented his strong anti-slavery
convictions, but it would not have fulfilled this broader vision. The Statue of Liberty's Origins in Egypt The Black Statue Of Liberty Rumor
The St. Martin sculptor has also exhibited abroad. His “Caribbean Woman,” another elegant statue with sensuous curves, is on permanent display at the Changchun World Sculpture Park in China.
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| Bonev's CCISS Winning Statue |
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| Bonev's Statue named Basse-Terre |
My Country 'Tis of Thee...
As much as people [citizens] want to say that they are not "American", the fact is, most of them have not left this fair land in pursuit of another country to call home. As people scoff at Caucasians to deal with White Guilt, we as citizens of color need to deal with what I'd term as American guilt. Yes, many atrocities occurred in the name of America in which most of the common people didn't have a chance to really be involved with a system. However, it is only by recognizing those said atrocities, dealing with them, will we begin to serve justice for that in which the country has done. It's really just time to "deal with it" as we would deal with trauma in our personal lives. In the words of one of our founding fathers
“How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them”- Benjamin Franklin
So...
...for what may not be the best country there is, but it's where I call home & I will do my best to speak out and stand up to make it better for my children in the future....How patriotic of me, Enjoy!
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