Mourn on the Fourth of July

 

Some years ago, Michael and I became close friends with a couple from the Middle East who had come to Providence to pursue careers in medicine and social work. Eventually we had small children of similar ages, so we hung out a lot at each other’s houses. They were dear to me – smart, multilingual, and witty.

 

Early on, I mentioned that I’d majored in American civilization. Immediately the two of them laughed. They explained that where they were from, “American civilization” is an oxymoron. How rude! I began describing the American literature and art I’d studied, and the lofty ideas that drove the early years of our republic. But I could see our Old World friends were skeptical and amused.

 

I’ve thought about that conversation recently. The country I had been proud of for its principles of democracy and tolerance has been diminished by hate, anger, and explicit intolerance. Was it ever a light among nations, as we were taught? I wish I could do my college major over again, taking deep dives into Native American history and the horrific story of Black slavery and its seemingly endless aftermath. 

 

My long-held belief in American exceptionalism has crumbled. I see that we are a country of crushing inequality, where a tiny sliver of our populace holds almost all of its wealth – and continues to accumulate and hoard it while low- and even middle-income people can’t afford housing or food. Racial prejudice, which many of us Boomers assumed was on its way out after years of progress in civil rights, has raised its ugly head in often deadly ways. Women’s reproductive rights are imperiled by ultra-conservative legislatures and courts. For a vocal minority, gun ownership is the new religion, held more dear than the hundreds of lives lost each year to military-style firearms wielded by Americans against Americans. Neo-Nazis and white supremacists are emboldened to kill. Congress, having survived an insurrection earlier this year, is held hostage to Republican defiance. 

 

This is the first Independence Day in memory that I haven’t draped our porch railings with red, white, and blue bunting; or replaced the Welcome plaque next to the front door with one that depicts the flag and says “America the Beautiful.” I’m tempted to take down the Stars and Stripes that we’ve flown from our deck since 9/11.

 

Maybe our friends weren’t wrong. Maybe America is doomed to be forever the Wild West. Last year we voted out a crude, cruel demagogue whom nearly half the nation had elected to the presidency. We remain a nation divided and under siege by those committed to stripping away freedoms and justice for all.

 

Today President Biden tweeted, “America is back together.” Oh, how I wish I could believe him. A.D.