The 4th of July

The 4th of July is here again, and so is my annual rant on how misdirected our celebration has become.

It's gotten to the point where every Independence Day celebration begins and ends by remembering the noble veterans who fought and even died in armed conflicts. Should we remember those who fought for this country? Absolutely. That's what we have Veterans Day for. And we even have Memorial Day to specifically remember those who died. The 4th of July is something different.

Today is supposed to be a day we celebrate our nation as a whole - especially our stated values of freedom and equality. And our nation is more than just a sum of its armed conflicts - justified and otherwise.

When I think about the men and women who made this country great, I think about those who fought unarmed battles on our own shores. If you really hold the ideals of freedom and equality high, how can you not honor those who waged war for labor and civil rights? Many of these people also gave their lives, and without the benefit of the popular and federal approval that comes with fighting in a war.

And yes, we do have Labor Day and to some extent Martin Luther King Day to remember these sacrifices. But our disingenuous fixation on the sacrifices of war threatens to turn every holiday into the same faux patriotic lip service. We're not far from a time when Labor Day is the day we remember the men and women who work hard and then give their lives defending this country. Or perhaps Groundhog Day will become the day a small rodent tells us if there will be six more weeks of winter in which we can remember the men and women who gave their lives defending this country. You see where it's going.

We've gotten to the point where we honor the fighting more than we honor the cause, and that's just not right. So as you indulge in charred meat and beer, please take a moment to remember all the great things about this nation other than shooting people from other nations.