Remembering on July 4th

July 4^th is about remembering.  So let’s remember that the signers of the Declaration of Independence were rich, white, male, slave owners, whose land they “owned” was stolen from Native Americans.  Let’s remember the African families who were brought here to live in bondage.  Let’s remember that the Declaration says that we are all “created equal”, yet .1% (yes, one tenth of one percent) owns as much wealth as 90% of us.  Let’s remember that the Declaration says we all have “unalienable rights”, yet if you’re black or brown, or Muslim, or labeled as “other”, these rights are trashed.  Let’s remember the many “injuries and usurpations” stated in the Declaration that needed to be addressed, among them “obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners”.

Let’s remember that the Declaration states, “Whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.”  Further on it states, in stronger words, “it is their duty to throw off such government”.

As an Army, infantry veteran of the U.S. war against the people of Viet Nam, I wonder how many people in this country, including those who hold political office, are brave enough to act upon the Declaration.   On July 4^th, be real patriots, read the Declaration of Independence, remember its intent, and vow to act to make “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” a reality.    

P.S. – Fireworks are very upsetting to many veterans.