Across the United States Independence Day was marked with joyous celebration. Parties, parades and family gatherings took place from shore to shore. The WIP family 2008 had our own celebrations that rivaled the very best of them!
This country has a love affair with superlatives and so, on the day to celebrate all things American, we tried our hands, not at Frisbee, but Ultimate Frisbee!! The early morning start was no deterrent for us excitable Irish and there was an impressive turnout for this sporting extravaganza. The match passed without incident and was rumored by the old timers to have been the best ever! We retired to a mammoth (more superlatives) breakfast before reading the declaration of independence. I struggled to mask the laughter as those with more pronounced British accents rhymed on about how their wretched king was suppressing their transatlantic colonies. I had always believed the declaration to be a far more aspiration document but I suppose we couldn’t really change it for our purposes!!
The generosity of the American spirit laid on another feast in the form of a Fourth of July BBQ. It was an amazing spread and not even the torrential rain could quench the delight. From there we headed to the Washington Mall and joined the throngs all gathered for the annual fireworks display. I hadn’t given the fireworks much or any prior thought and had no expectations formed. I had no idea what to expect and eagerly subscribed to the wisdom of the assembled masses and prepared myself to marvel at the beauty of what was about to unfold.
Once the celebrations eventually flamed in to action my emotions suffered a sever divide. On one hand we must marvel at the wonders of science and human creativity displayed so gallantly in painting the night sky. The flames that lit and faded in and out of obscure shapes and patterns were a sight to behold. The child in me was in awe as the bright colours exploded in to rainbows and seducing the crowd to universal adoration.
There was, however, another side to my response. This other side was the one that began to dominate how I felt and nagged irritatingly at my sense of what is right. These pyrotechnics cost tens of millions of dollars and cost the planted tonnes of carbon. Is this all for the wealthy to fulfill their hedonist desires? I grew disgusted at the vulgarity of it all and began to despise the notion that this in some way made the country great and honored the mighty founders of the US.
The contrast between our day’s birth and death could not have been starker. The Frisbee seemed so pure and ideal compared to the extravagance of the fire works. The community where I threw the Frisbee was real and a true celebration of all that is great about America. The fireworks display was just a phoney!
This whole internal dilemma set my mind on a tour of community, searching to figure out what really just happened. Could it be that we have replaced small, real and effective community with energy intensive, large scale vulgarity? Have our increasingly individual and independent lifestyles cost our relationships with those around us? Are people trying to fill the gaping void left by the decreasing level of community with gigantic surrogates?
