We celebrate a number of holidays each year in the United States, and while everyone is biased, there are not many who think of us as human beings. In fact, very few can. We manage to find the worst in each other in almost every field of public life and we show very little interest in finding our best. We’re at our worst every Columbus Day, Halloween, Martin Luther King Day and even President’s Day. As for the day of celebration, there is almost nothing that will not bring the military to do their best to enforce Heckler’s veto.
Honestly, it makes most of us tired. But the fear of finding themselves at the end of the nearest pitchfork keeps most people calm.
Of all the American holidays, only the 4th of July offered something similar to a free pass. The racist origins of Independence Day are hard to find, a day when one group of white boys told another to go to the sand of whites. Although no one is trying. And we have become accustomed to giving nothing but silence in the face of even the most cookie of racial demands.
And that’s as good as it gets. Thanksgiving is upon us, which means the holiday season is in full swing. Thanksgiving is upon us, which means the holiday season is in full swing. Still, it looks like we might have a Thanksgiving National Day, and perhaps the whole story deserves to be celebrated as a holiday.
After Thanksgiving, there is not much that we celebrate that gives us time to reflect on what unites us as our friends, neighbors, and countrymen. But it is precisely this gap in our public celebration that suggests the two holidays that can pull us together. And they can draw us together because we are the best Would like To celebrate our shared lives.
The first of these, Patriot’s Day, was born in the 1894 Massachusetts Accord. The cities of Lexington and Concord each sought leave in their own name, Governor Frederick T. Greenhale is a bit of a hindrance. Greenhalls used that moment to recognize what the people of Massachusetts had known for more than 100 years: the wars of Lexington and Concord were key to American independence. Although the biggest battle of April 19 was the Battle of Menotomy.
Pointing to the three wars, he proposed a compromise on Patriot Day. And while Independence Day has always been a celebration of the conspiracies of America’s colonial ruling class, a fitting celebration in this instance, Patriot Day was an acknowledgment of the reality that everyone knows: without patriotism to fight for cause, independence would never have happened. .
It is a celebration in which countless unknown people have sacrificed themselves for a cause much greater than themselves It is a celebration for all of us.
Which brings us to the second place. Juventus commemorates the release of the last slaves in the United States on June 19, 1965, when Union Army General Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom for slaves in Galveston, Texas. There were other dates to recommend themselves. The announcement of Lincoln’s release on January 1, 1863 was the clearest of these. But the proclamation of emancipation, intended for the slaves of the Confederacy, never set anyone free. Also clear was the 13th Amendment, which made slavery constitutionally unacceptable on December 6, 1865. And while that term is unquestionably important, it was not as important as the declaration of independence for people who had no idea that they were no longer slaves.
And what could bring the American experiment into a closer focus than the celebration of the countless unknown people who sacrificed themselves for a cause much greater than themselves?
Juventus is also a celebration for all of us. Because all Americans know their birthright, what could be better than celebrating freedom? This is not a team victory, it is not one time or another. It is a universal victory, because the cause of freedom is the cause of all.
April 19th and June 19th show us how ordinary people have done extraordinary things. It is a debt that we cannot repay but pay off. Do the people of Massachusetts who fought in the First World War want more from us? Will the slaves be freed?
Happy Juntinth
James and Harrigan
James R. Harrigan is the senior editor of AIER. She is also the co-host of the Words & Numbers podcast.
Dr. Harrigan previously served as Dean of the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani and later as Director of Academic Programs at the Institute for Human Studies and Strata, where he was also a Senior Research Fellow.
He has written extensively for the popular press, including articles in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, US News and World Report and a host of other outlets. He is a co-author of Collaboration and Coercion. His current work focuses on the intersection between political economy, public policy and political philosophy.