Independence Day

To me it is always that, the way Memorial Day is really Decoration Day. Independence Day. And in my head I always hear Bruce Springsteen singing about another sort of independence day, not a celebratory song, a sort of a sad song, and yet a song that stirs me in the same deep way that Independence Day does.

It seems to me that there are Independent Men that always exist. Sometimes they form new countries, like Jefferson and Washington and Payne. Sometimes they hide persecuted neighbors, or write things they know will get them sent to Siberia. I'd bet there are Independent Men in prison (yet free) even now in China. But most Independent Men wouldn't stand out so much, instead just going about their lives, refusing to be the exploited or the exploiters.

It seems to me that there are Eager Slaves among men, those who seek out the comfort of the yoke, the crook of the shepherd. And that there are Despotic Tyrants among men, those who seek only their own false gain and comfort. The Tyrants and Slaves love each other, seek each other out, rise and fall together.

While Independent Men go about their independent way.

Some would tout interdependence. I would point out that there is no interdependence without independence.

So, I'm really glad this isn't Dependence Day. I'm as proud to be an American as I am to be an Appalachian, a Southerner, a Hillbilly, and all those other despoiled terms. A woman, a mother, a chief cook and bottle washer.

"And soon everything we've known will just be swept away," and Independent Men will just go on.