Independence Day

The words “4th of July” have crossed my earshot a number of times in the last few days. When I allowed my brain to process the term and make associations, it produced inevitable images of barbecue pits, fireworks, social gatherings, marching bands, and a vague notion of patriotism defined by primary colors and American exceptionalism. Unsatisfied by this return, I googled these words, determined to relish greater meaning upon my forthcoming array of grilled meat products. Immediately, my eye paused on the following words:

Independence Day.

Like most Americans, my initial mental associations are limited to powdered whigs and Wil Smith alien ass-kicking, but upon minimal reflection, I’m moved by their power, and what they mean for me not only as a citizen, but as a gay American.

Over 200 years ago, 56 men gathered to sign a declaration of independence, an act of treason punishable by death, which states that we American citizens have certain natural rights, or liberties, that cannot be violated:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Life. Liberty. The pursuit of happiness. These freedoms are the foundation of our nation and the birthright of its people, and gay men and women are not exempt. We are well served this weekend to consider not only the revolutionary assertion of freedom, but the courage of our forefathers in demanding it when tyranny was the norm. Such a reflection is particularly meaningful in our great city, where many of the best, brightest, and most idealistic of our identity group migrate to fight for the birthright still unrealized and unclaimed in so many ways, for so many across this country.

Many will not give much thought to the meaning of Independence Day, others may dismiss or minimize the celebration. Reinterpretations of patriotism by the highly fed and lowly taught have torn and twisted the flag into knots of religiosity, tyranny, and corruption that may leave you uninspired and unwilling to celebrate this country, yet I encourage you to instead consider true patriotism through the words of the man who wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence:

On Civil Rights:

"Under the law of nature, all men are born free, every one comes into the world with a right to his own person, which includes the liberty of moving and using it at his own will. This is what is called personal liberty, and is given him by the Author of nature, because necessary for his own sustenance."

“The clergy…believe that any portion of power confided in me [as president] will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they are correct: I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. But this is all they have to fear from me: and enough, too, in their opinion.”

In reference to religious tyranny:

"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own."

“Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear.”

"I am really mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, a fact like this [i.e., the purchase of an apparent geological or astronomical work] can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too, as an offense against religion; that a question about the sale of a book can be carried before the civil magistrate. Is this then our freedom of religion? and are we to have a censor whose imprimatur shall say what books may be sold, and what we may buy? And who is thus to dogmatize religious opinions for our citizens? Whose foot is to be the measure to which ours are all to be cut or stretched? Is a priest to be our inquisitor, or shall a layman, simple as ourselves, set up his reason as the rule for what we are to read, and what we must believe? It is an insult to our citizens to question whether they are rational beings or not, and blasphemy against religion to suppose it cannot stand the test of truth and reason. If [this] book be false in its facts, disprove them; if false in its reasoning, refute it. But, for God's sake, let us freely hear both sides, if we choose."

On Law:

"The most sacred of the duties of a government [is] to do equal and impartial justice to all its citizens."

"Among these [laws], the poorest laborer stood on equal ground with the wealthiest millionaire, and generally on a more favored one whenever their rights seem to jar."

On Education:

"The most effectual means of preventing the perversion of power into tyranny are to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large, and more especially to give them knowledge of those facts which history exhibits, that possessed thereby of the experience of other ages and countries, they may be enabled to know ambition under all its shapes, and prompt to exert their natural powers to defeat its purposes."

On Government:

"A government of reason is better than one of force."

"The equal rights of man, and the happiness of every individual, are now acknowledged to be the only legitimate objects of government."

"Peace... has been our principle, peace is our interest, and peace has saved to the world this only plant of free and rational government now existing in it... However, therefore, we may have been reproached for pursuing our Quaker system, time will affix the stamp of wisdom on it, and the happiness and prosperity of our citizens will attest its merit. And this, I believe, is the only legitimate object of government and the first duty of governors, and not the slaughter of men and devastation of the countries placed under their care in pursuit of a fantastic honor unallied to virtue or happinessor in gratification of the angry passions or the pride of administrators excited by personal incidents in which their citizens have no concern."

That man, of course, is Thomas Jefferson. He fought tyranny because he loved this country, and so that we could be free. He believed that this great experiment of freedom could work if people are willing to show true patriotism and fight for the principles it is based on. It doesn’t make much sense to me, after 200+ years of struggle, to overlook or default on that patriotism just yet.

I hope you TNG readers have great fun, eat plenty of charred food products, pop a few illegal roman candles, and consider the flag this weekend. And, if my appeals to your patriotism don’t resonate, then instead consider John Hancock, the first of the brave men willing to sign the Declaration of Independence. He signed his name in massive text that dwarfed the names of his fellow signers, a diva-worthy stroke of bitchery explained by him as “so King George could read it without the aid of glasses.”

Surely, any gay man can appreciate a cut like that. Particularly from someone with a name like “Hancock.”