United We Spend (July/Aug 2004)

One year ago, I watched fireworks on the Fourth of July from the vacant lakes of pavement bordering Wal-Mart, and found myself trying to imagine what it would be like to describe our consumer culture to my grandchildren, long after it has imploded on itself.

The emptiness I sensed inside as I attempted to grasp how to explain the veins of traffic, empires of plastic, and stoplight messiahs, overcame any pride I could have felt for my country. A place where I increasingly feel misplaced and misunderstood as the drones of destruction, saturated in red, white and blue, quicken their pace towards extinction. There was a time, when the celebration of our nation's independence actually meant more to me than alienation and grief. There was a time when my naïve nature blocked out the truth in favor of the deceptions of repeated history. Back then, I still equated America with freedom, democracy, and choice. I was too young to know any different, I still believed in the myths passed down to me by my parents.

And every year, on the Fourth of July, the colored rain of pyrotechnics made me smile and squeal with delight. Every year, I danced with sparklers, and indulged in the feelings of life in a free country. Unfortunately, I was a curious little boy, the kind that likes to ask too many questions. I soon realized that our freedoms are directly equated with wealth. An inner city youth who is busted for marijuana is going to prison, while a rich suburbanite, cocaine-addicted football star gets a slap on the wrist. Democracy, I discovered, was really just another type of credit card, and right now interest rates are at an all time high.

Oh, but America is the best country in the world, I was told over and over again, until it became a mantra of sorts. It doesn't matter that the nation is spiritually bankrupt, so long as we have lots of stuff! Hooray for big screen TVs, and soap operas, celebrate your electric razor attachments, jump in jubilation, we have fast food and cosmetic surgery, yay for beer and football, smile if you use whitening toothpaste, dance for designer clothes and MTV, have a parade for pop star puppets and talk show hosts. Yes, our homeland is truly wonderful. With the highest rates in the first world for crime, poverty, mental disorders, violence, prison population, and defense spending, where else would you rather be?

We fight wars for our way of life, not our freedom. Our enemies are not opponents of democracy, but opponents of globalization. They are fighting for their lives, their land, and their culture, as we threaten to destroy the earth in our pursuit of instantaneous satisfaction. We'd rather practice preemptive invasions, than turn down our thermostats two degrees, and drive more fuel efficient vehicles. We'd rather throw away our civil rights, than have to curb our own consumption.

Perhaps, in my lifetime, there will come a time, when the Fourth of July will be as exciting as it was when I was a child. A time when I can truly enjoy this so-called celebration of freedom, and am proud to be an American. Until that time comes, I will not give up, and I will not desert my country in its time of need. I will keep fighting to restore truth to the ideals we all share, I will keep fighting for justice and peace, and I will keep fighting for a planet that is being raped by monkeys with big egos. But for now, I will try to plug my ears, and drown out the explosions and sonic bursts that commemorate another year of hypocrisy and lies.

-Jason M Glover

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