A Declaration: A Special July 4th Edition of International Need to Know
Originally we were also going to take this week off as we continued our vacation. But we happened to find ourselves in the birthplace of freedom–Philadelphia–in the days leading up to the Fourth of July. Darkly ironic, we were touring Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were developed and approved twelve score and eight years ago when today’s U.S. Supreme Court shrugged its shoulders and sighed, Roger Taney-style, “actually some people are above the law,” effectively ending the grand, wild, earth shattering, inspiring-freedom-around-much-of-the-world America.
We were not happy about this development even as we saw so much of what made and makes America great during our vacation: the founding fathers celebrated in museums, historic buildings and houses, many of whom were younger than thirty-years-old when they made their mark on our world, setting the stage for so much of the freedom that liberates people everywhere from Chile to Canada, Poland to Taiwan, South Korea to Botswana; wonderful traditional food such as Philly cheesesteaks and culinary delights crafted by the multitude of immigrants who have strengthened our country over the centuries as we dined at Israeli, Indian and modern American restaurants; the music that America has generously provided the world, including jazz, hip hop and soul that we saw in clubs and on the sidewalk outside the Philadelphia African American Museum.
Earlier in the week, we attended the wedding of our niece, who like her groom, was born to a Japanese mother and American Dad. Her sister’s trans friend filmed the ceremony so her politically conservative grandma, our Mom, too old to travel such a great distance, could watch the nuptials.
There has never been a country quite like America, which has done so much good for its people and the world, even as it has made so many tragic and painful mistakes in its history. In our opinion, its Supreme Court has made yet another one. At first, we despaired, even as we enjoyed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness on our well-earned vacation. But today, on the 248th anniversary of declaring independence, we steel ourselves for the fight ahead and remember the words of the Constitution, written in Philadelphia 236 years ago,
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
We’ll be back next week with our usual International Need to Know, sadder but we hope wiser.
