This weekend, should you manage a momentary escape from the usual miscellany -- the grilled grub, percussive fireworks, et cetera -- spare a thought for the holiday's significance. I don't mean historically. Enveloping yourself within a patriotic reverie about Thomas Jefferson and America's forefathers is well and good, after all, but can become rather hackneyed. Rather, consider Independence Day in the complex context of our nation today. With numerous trials at hand, perhaps foremost the financial tempest, where do those ideals established in 1776 stand now, and how can we surpass the turbulence and retain them?
Indeed, the United States has changed over the past year, and while change is not a pejorative term, our current situation has begun to seem somewhat disorderly. Once heralded by our Ellis Island ancestors as a beacon of opportunity, many of us -- too many of us -- will celebrate America this weekend either unemployed or with premonitory threats of a nearby chopping block. Especially for recent college graduates, the selective job market wreaks havoc with its acquired trait of frugality. Moreover, every ear has been battered and bruised by the phrase, "the financial crisis," and the decrepit, dog-eared "American Dream" seems to belong more with the Great Gatsby than with us. The "death" of newspapers, the whisper of a red tide of socialism, and the pessimistic list goes on.
Despite these things, however, we must recognize that although America's current issues are distinctive, they are not necessarily unique. We have weathered many wars and threats before, even those on our own soil, so that we might see our ideals persevere. We have dealt with prejudices and worked towards a country of equality. We have outlasted the 1929 crash and survived the subsequent Great Depression. Surely, being an American then was no picnic, either. So, even though things may appear to be too changed, too mutated, our history tells us that we do have the fortitude to continue, to rebuild, to revitalize ourselves by the fireside chats found in everyday life. Not all hope is lost. Not yet.
The requisite is our burgeoning diversity, honed to a balance between cultural and patriotic identities; we must solidify the sense of "American" without destroying ancestral ties to any patria. Such a distinction is not inconsequential, and many continue to have restricted definitions of the term. A while ago, I was asked about my nationality, to which I replied, "American." The asker then said, "No, I mean where your family is from." "Well, I have ancestors in Quebec." Unsatisfied yet, they finished, "You mean France, then. Canada's still a young country." Such a limited perspective can be insidious, and we must continue striving for indivisible diversity: different, but together.
In this respect, our country is truly starting to feel like the melting pot -- both President Barack Obama and Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor being recent contributors -- but still has a long way to go. America's benefit is that it contains a tremendous variety of backgrounds, opinions and lifestyles, enabling it to approach situations with a unique edge. Thus, our ideals need not be considered forsaken, and while only strength and travail will help us persevere, unity as Americans will help us endure.
In his famous poem, "I Hear America Singing," Walt Whitman gets it right. He describes a vast variety of persons, each singing what "belongs to" them in America. The carpenter, the mother, the boatman, the shoemaker, the young wife at work sing what is theirs, but all share a similar motivation for singing: their country. So, if you do manage to prescind from your weekend festivities, spare a thought. Not too long, however, for even Whitman ends, "At night, the party of young fellows, robust, friendly, singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs," and America is certainly worth celebrating.
Stéfan Orzech is a sophomore majoring in English and comparative literature and is The Daily Collegian's Thursday columnist. His email
