I've never been a big fan of patriotic fluff, but the celebration of the Fourth of July, other than an excuse to have a picnic, seems rather ironic. I suspect that the tax inequities and the impossibility of getting real representation is probably messed up today as badly as it was during the time of King George, especially with Citizens United and the powerful calls for austerity for the least fortunate. Calls for revolution, while celebrated in the past, are not particularly welcome in the present.
The holiday also seems to spillover into a celebration of the Constitution, a document which was created under false pretenses. The Constitutional Convention was not presented as a constitutional convention, or rather a meeting to work out some kinks in the Articles of Confederation. Once convened, the organizers changed the purpose, literally closed the windows and pulled down the shades in order to prevent anyone from following the proceedings. Then, after a series of compromises, the Founding Fathers enshrined the institution of slavery, then rewarded slaveowners by giving their votes extra weight by counting the nonvoting slaves as part of the population. Politics was ugly then and remains ugly now. When peace breaks out and the fruits of the economy are distributed more equitably, I'll be ready to celebrate. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
