Liberty

July 2, 2024

The Fourth of July has long been one of my favorite holidays, in part because of memories of family gatherings at my grandmother’s home in Berkeley, and in part because it’s a secular anniversary that celebrates the independence and freedoms earned through sacrifices made by patriots during the American Revolution.

But in this election year, there are dark clouds on the horizon, in this country and abroad, and the survival of those hard-won freedoms may be at stake.

A couple of months ago I spent a week in Philadelphia exploring the city and being inspired by various sites related to the Revolution and the Founding Fathers. One spot I found especially moving was the Old Pine Street Churchyard, a beautiful green graveyard shaded by mature sycamore trees. Wandering among the 18th century tombstones, I noticed that some of the graves were decorated with little 13 star American flags, and some were not. Upon further inspection I realized that the graves marked by the circle star flags were the final resting places of soldiers who served under General Washington in the Continental Army.

There are many prominent citizens from that time who are buried in that cemetery, but only the graves of the 200 plus ordinary veterans of the Continental Army are honored with American flags, even after 240 some years. Their heroism and sacrifices have not been forgotten, and in death they outrank their social superiors.

And what is it that the farmers and tradesmen and shopkeepers of Washington’s ragtag “army” fought for? Independence from Britain, to be sure, along with the opportunity to experience “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” as the Declaration of Independence proclaimed.

But freedom means different things to different people.

For many conservatives, freedom means the right to carry guns in public, and intimidate their fellow citizens with assault rifles. For some in the Black Lives Matter movement, freedom means to defund the police. In Louisiana the public schools are now required to post the Ten Commandments, and in progressive Berkeley the Free Speech Movement of the 1960’s has been replaced by left wing intolerance of any views but their own.

Democracies are messy and contentious, and even Founding Fathers such as George Washington and John Adams were disgusted by the nasty politics of their day. Sometimes I wonder if there is a cause, a person, or a philosophy today that could unite Americans, and human beings everywhere, in service to the common good. Perhaps climate change will force humanity to come together at some point.

Or maybe true liberty is not political, but spiritual. Beethoven was appalled by the bloody French Revolution, and unimpressed by the authoritarians and monarchies of his day; rather, he said, “I much prefer the empire of the mind, and I regard it as the highest of all spiritual and worldly monarchies.” He didn’t specify what he meant by “empire of the mind,” but I’m guessing that he was referring to creativity and imagination.

So for this upcoming Fourth of July, I’m declaring my independence from left wing and right wing divisiveness, and aligning myself with the ideals of spiritual liberation.

I’m a Yankee Doodle Buddha.