OMNI
FROM 4TH
OF JULY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO 4TH OF JULY INTERDEPENDENCE
DAY, INTERNATIONAL DAY OF INTERDEPENDENCE, ANTHOLOGY #5,
July 4, 2023.
COMPILED BY
Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology
https://omnicenter.org/donate/
#4 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/07/omni-interdependence-day-july-4-2021.html
CONTENTS INTERDEPENDENCE DAY JULY 4, 2023 #5
Frederick
Douglass. “What, to the slave, is the
Fourth of July?”
Rabbi Arthur Waskow. “New 4th of July.”
Mark Charles. “The
Dilemma Of The Fourth Of July.”
Margaret Kimberley. “The
Terrible Origins Of July 4th.”
ACLU of Arkansas. “How
many are not free?”
Google. 8 items on Interdependence Day
TEXTS INTERDEPENDENCE DAY JULY 4, 2023
FREDERICK DOUGLASS, “WHAT, TO THE SLAVE, IS
THE FOURTH OF JULY?”
Frederick Douglass was invited to address the
citizens of his hometown, Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852. Whatever the
expectations of his
audience on that 76th anniversary of the
signing of the Declaration of Independence, Douglass used the speech to remind
his listeners of America’s
continuing enslavement of millions of people. Read
the full 10-page speech at the link:
Posted January 24, 2007 Contributed by
BLACKPAST ~ BlackPast.org is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization.
We print excerpts from his extraordinary
10-page speech. Numerals at the left are the paragraph locations in the speech.
P2 The fact is, ladies and gentlemen, the
distance between this plat-
form and the slave plantation, from which I
escaped, is considerable—
That I am here today is, to me, a matter of
astonishment as well as of
gratitude.
P4 This, for the purpose of this celebration,
is the 4th of July, the birth-
day of your National Independence, and your
political freedom. This, to
you, is what the Passover was to the
emancipated people of God. It car-
ries your minds back to the day, and to the
act of your great deliverance;
and to the signs, and to the wonders,
associated with that act, that day.
P13 On the second of July, 1776, the old
Continental Congress, to the
dismay of the lovers of ease, and the
worshipers of property, clothed
that dreadful idea with all the authority of
national sanction. They did so
in the form of a resolution
P15 Citizens, your fathers made good that
resolution. They succeeded;
and to-day you reap the fruits of their
success.
P23 They were peace men; but they preferred
revolution to peaceful
submission to bondage. They were quiet men;
but they did not shrink
from agitating against oppression.
P28 I remember also that as a people Americans
are remarkably famil-
iar with all facts which make in their own
favor. This is esteemed by some
as a national trait—perhaps a national
weakness. It is a fact, that what-
ever makes for the wealth or for the reputation
of Americans, and can
be had cheap will be found by Americans.
P34 Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to
ask, why am I called upon
to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I
represent, to do with your
national independence? Are the great principles
of political freedom and
of natural justice, embodied in that
Declaration of Independence, ex-
tended to us?
P36 But, such is not the state of the case.
The rich inheritance of justice,
liberty, prosperity and independence,
bequeathed by your fathers, is
shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that
brought life and healing to
you, has brought stripes and death to me. This
Fourth of July is yours,
not mine.
P38 Fellow-citizens; above your national,
tumultuous joy, I hear the
mournful wail of millions! whose chains, heavy
and grievous yesterday,
are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the
jubilee shouts that reach
them. My subject, then fellow-citizens, is
American slavery. I do not hes-
itate to declare, with all my soul, that the
character and conduct of this
nation never looked blacker to me than on this
4th of July! Standing with
God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this
occasion, I will, in the
thomas-paine-friends.org
name of humanity which is outraged, in the
name of liberty which is fet
tered, in the name of the constitution and the
Bible, which are disre-
garded and trampled upon, dare to call in
question and to denounce,
with all the emphasis I can command,
everything that serves to perpet-
uate slavery—the great sin and shame of America!
Must I undertake to
prove that the slave is a man? That point is
conceded already. The slave-
holders themselves acknowledge it in the
enactment of laws for their
government. They acknowledge it when they
punish disobedience on
the part of the slave. There are seventy-two
crimes in the State of Vir-
ginia, which, if committed by a black man, (no
matter how ignorant he
be), subject him to the punishment of death;
while only two of the same
crimes will subject a white man to the like
punishment. What is this but
the acknowledgement that the slave is a moral,
intellectual and respon-
sible being? It is admitted in the fact that
Southern statute books are
covered with enactments forbidding, under
severe fines and penalties,
the teaching of the slave to read or to write.
P39 Is it not astonishing that, while we are
ploughing, planting and
reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools,
erecting houses, construct-
ing bridges, building ships, working in metals
of brass, iron, copper, silver
and gold; that, while we are reading, writing
and cyphering, acting as
clerks, merchants and secretaries, having
among us lawyers, doctors,
ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators,
teachers; that, while we are
engaged in all manner of enterprises common to
other men, digging gold
in California, capturing the whale in the
Pacific, feeding sheep and cattle
on the hill-side, living, moving, acting,
thinking, planning, living in fami-
lies as husbands, wives and children, and,
above all, confessing and wor-
shipping the Christian’s God, and looking
hopefully for life and immor-
tality beyond the grave, we are called upon to
prove that we are men!
P41 What, am I to argue that it is wrong to
make men brutes, to rob
them of their liberty, to work them without
wages, to keep them
ignorant of their relations to their fellow
men, to beat them with sticks,
to flay their flesh with the lash, to load
their limbs with irons, to hunt
them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to
sunder their families, to knock
out their teeth, to bum their flesh, to starve
them into obedience and
submission to their masters? Must I argue that
a system thus marked
with blood and stained with pollution is
wrong? No! I will not.
P43 For it is not light that is needed, but
fire; it is not the gentle shower,
but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind,
and the earthquake.
P44 What, to the American slave, is your
Fourth of July? I answer: a day
Continued on page 6, Douglass
Bulletin of Thomas Paine Friends, vol. 23, no.
2, Summer 2022 5
Douglass, from page 5
that reveals to him, more than all other days
in the year, the gross
injustice and cruelly to which he is the
constant victim. To him, your
celebration is a sham, your boasted liberty,
an unholy license, your
national greatness, swelling vanity; your
sounds of rejoicing are empty
and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants,
brass fronted impudence;
your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow
mockery; your prayers and
hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with
all your religious parade,
and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast,
fraud, deception, impiety,
and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes
which would disgrace a na-
tion of savages. There is not a nation on the
earth guilty of practices,
more shocking and bloody, than are the people
of these United States,
at this very hour.
P45 For revolting barbarity and shameless
hypocrisy, America reigns
without a rival. Take the American
slave-trade, which, we are told by the
papers, is especially prosperous just now.
Ex-Senator Benton tells us that
the price of men was never higher than now. He
mentions the fact to
show that slavery is in no danger. In several
states, this trade is a chief
source of wealth.
P46 Behold the practical operation of this
internal slave-trade, the
American slave-trade, sustained by American
politics and America reli-
gion. Here you will see men and women reared
like swine for the market.
You know what is a swine-drover? I will show
you a man-drover. They
inhabit all our Southern States. They
perambulate the country, and
crowd the highways of the nation, with droves
of human stock. You will
see one of these human flesh-jobbers, armed
with pistol, whip and
bowie-knife, driving a company of a hundred
men, women, and children,
from the Potomac to the slave market at New
Orleans. These wretched
people are to be sold singly, or in lots, to
suit purchasers. They are food
for the cotton-field, and the deadly
sugar-mill. Mark the sad procession,
as it moves wearily along, and the inhuman
wretch who drives them.
Hear his savage yells and his blood-chilling
oaths, as he hurries on his
affrighted captives! There, see the old man,
with locks thinned and gray.
Cast one glance, if you please, upon that
young mother, whose shoulders
are bare to the scorching sun, her
briny tears falling on the brow of the babe in
her arms. See, too, that girl
of thirteen, weeping, yes! weeping, as she
thinks of the mother from
whom she has been torn! The drove moves
tardily.
Heat and sorrow have nearly consumed their
strength; suddenly you
hear a quick snap, like the discharge of a
rifle; the fetters clank, and the
chain rattles simultaneously; your ears are
saluted with a scream, that
seems to have torn its way to the center of
your soul! The crack you
heard, was the sound of the slave-whip; the
scream you heard, was from
the woman you saw with the babe. Her speed had
faltered under the
weight of her child and her chains! that gash
on her shoulder tells her to
move on. Follow the drove to New Orleans.
Attend the auction; see men
examined like horses; see the forms of women
rudely and brutally ex-
posed to the shocking gaze of American
slave-buyers. See this drove sold
and separated forever; and never forget the
deep, sad sobs that arose
from that scattered multitude. Tell me
citizens, where, under the sun,
you can witness a spectacle more fiendish and
shocking. Yet this is but a
glance at the American slave-trade, as it
exists, at this moment, in the
ruling part of the United States.
P46 Many a child has been snatched from the
arms of its mother by
bargains arranged in a state of brutal
drunkenness.
P50 By an act of the American Congress, not
yet two years old, slavery
has been nationalized in its most horrible and
revolting form. By that act,
Mason & Dixon’s line has been obliterated;
New York has become as Vir-
ginia; and the power to hold, hunt, and sell
men, women, and children
as slaves remains no longer a mere state
institution, but is now an insti-
tution of the whole United States. The power
is co-extensive with the
Star-Spangled Banner and American Christianity.
Not fewer than forty
Americans have, within the past two years,
been hunted down and, with-
out a moment’s warning, hurried away in
chains, and consigned to slav-
ery and excruciating torture. Some of these
have had wives and children,
dependent on them for bread; but of this, no
account was made. For
black men there are neither law, justice,
humanity, nor religion. The Fu-
gitive Slave Law makes mercy to them a crime;
and bribes the judge who
tries them. An American judge gets ten dollars
for every victim he con-
signs to slavery, The minister of American
justice is bound by the law to
hear but one side; and that side is the side
of the oppressor. Let this
damning fact be perpetually told. Let it be
thundered around the world,
that, in tyrant-killing, king-hating,
people-loving, democratic, Christian
America, the seats of justice are filled with
judges, who hold their offices
under an open and palpable bribe, and are
bound, in deciding in the case
of a man’s liberty, to hear only his accusers!
P53 Many of its most eloquent Divines. who
stand as the very lights of
the church, have shamelessly given the
sanction of religion and the Bible
to the whole slave system.
P55 The American church is guilty, when viewed
in connection with
what it is doing to uphold slavery; but it is
superlatively guilty when
viewed in connection with its ability to
abolish slavery.
P56 Albert Barnes but uttered what the common
sense of every man
at all observant of the actual state of the
case will receive as truth, when
he declared that “There is no power out of the
church that could sustain
slavery an hour, if it were not sustained in
it.”
P61 Americans! your republican politics, not
less than your republican
religion, are flagrantly inconsistent. You
boast of your love of liberty,
your superior civilization, and your pure
Christianity, while the whole po-
litical power of the nation (as embodied in
the
two great political parties) is solemnly
pledged to support and
perpetuate the enslavement of three millions
of your countrymen.
P69 Allow me to say, in conclusion,
notwithstanding the dark picture I
have this day presented of the state of the
nation, I do not despair of
this country. There are forces in operation,
which must inevitably work
the downfall of slavery. “The arm of the Lord
is not shortened,” and the
doom of slavery is certain. I, therefore,
leave off where I began, with
hope. While drawing encouragement from the
Declaration of Independ-
ence, the great principles it contains, and
the genius of American Institu-
tions, my spirit is also cheered by the
obvious tendencies of the age.
P70 The fiat of the Almighty, “Let there be
Light,” has not yet spent its
force. No abuse, no outrage whether in taste,
sport or avarice, can now
hide itself from the all-pervading light.
P72 God speed the day when human blood Shall
cease to flow! In every
clime be understood, The claims of human
brotherhood, And each re-
turn for evil, good, Not blow for blow; That
day will come all feuds to
end. And change into a faithful friend each
foe.
P73 God speed the hour, the glorious hour,
When none on earth Shall
exercise a lordly power, Nor in a tyrant’s
presence cower; But all to man-
hood’s stature tower, By equal birth! That
hour will come, to each, to all,
And from his prison-house, the thrall Go
forth.
|
New 4th of July
Web:Theshalomcenter.org 7-6-21
New 4th of July [See
Anthology #4for Waskow’s “A Guide for How Progressives Can Transform July
4th into
Interdependence Day The
Trumpist Supreme Court celebrated the approach of the Fourth of July by
telling the ugly truth about itself. This whole previous term, it had puzzled
observers by avoiding straight-up decisions on the central power structures
of American society, while supporting liberal steps on the edges of
politics.. It OK’d Obamacare, said high-school students had the right to
criticize their school. But
when it came to race and the levers of power in America, it did what it was
appointed for. It gutted the remaining anti-racist, pro-democratic provisions
of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the crowning achievement of the Black-led
Freedom Movement. It left
standing new anti-voting laws in Arizona (and indicated approval of similar
laws already passed in other states) that had the clear effect of
disfranchising Black, Latinx, and Native citizens when the Department of
Justice could not prove the deliberate, out-front intention was
racist. Those “new” laws were no different from the Jim Crow poll tax,
that barred Black voters without ever needing to say so. So the
Supreme Court joined the Senate and the Electoral College as not merely
undemocratic but anti-democratic branches off the US government. We need
a new Fourth of July, a new updating of those great words of Thomas
Jefferson in his Preamble to the Declaration if we are ever to heal
America from his actions as a slave-owner. We need a new Fourth of July
if we are to save ourselves and the rest of Humankind and Earth from
deadly disasters brought on by Hyper-wealth – the Corporate Pharaohs that
would rather have plagues destroy us than honor American lives, human
lives, the more-than-human lives of other life-forms. Hyper-wealth, hyper-profit
-- more important than the hundreds of elders who died of heatstroke in
Oregon and British Columbia last week; more important than the dead of
Surfside because real-estate “developers” paid no attention as the rising
salt sea-waters ate away their building’s foundations; more important
than those who died of cold when the Texas energy grid failed while the
energy-selling corporations made a “killing” as they charged outrageous
prices for the energy they bothered to deliver -- more important
than tens of thousands more in every climate-related catastrophe. And
meanwhile, an Exxon Mobil lobbyist
boasted on video how Exxon “owned” Joe Manchin, the Senate’s crucial
supporter of the filibuster that is preventing passage of Green laws as part
of the crippled infrastructure bill. When the video went viral, the lobbyist
“apologized” -- not for his company’s vile politics, but for his
letting the stinking cat out of the velvet bag. See
highlights of the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zjyUol2whk For the
whole story on NPR, https://www.npr.org/2021/07/01/1012138741/exxon-lobbyist-caught-on-video-talks-about-undermining-bidens-climate-push A New
Fourth of July We hold
these truths to be self-evident, growing from the life-experience of all
Humanity: That
all men and women and those beyond the binary are created equal, as
distinctive strands of the great Web of life intertwined, and are through
that interdependence endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights
and responsibilities. That among these are – ·
Life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness, ·
The sharing of Beloved
Community throughout our planet, growing through responsible
relationships that embody, heal, and uphold that sacred web of life; ·
Peace
among all peoples; ·
A life-sustaining,
health-sustaining share of Earth’s abundance; ·
Honorable work with livable
income, based on livable hours of work; ·
A rhythm of work and rest that
frees time for family, neighborhood, citizenly involvement,
and the spirit; ·
Self-government in political,
economic, and cultural life, including public support for grass-roots co-ops,
democratic elections to govern large corporations, and legislatures not
controlled by wealth. Governments,
corporations, and other institutions that have a major impact on the lives of
the people are founded solely to secure these rights and uphold these
responsibilities, deriving their just powers from the consent of those they
govern and whose lives they shape. Whenever
any of these forms of government fails to protect these rights and carry out
these responsibilities, it is the right of the people – indeed, it is our
duty -- to alter or abolish it, providing new forms of government to carry
out these responsibilities. In the
midst of the greatest crisis of our history since the Civil War -- and
because Earth itself is in crisis, perhaps the worst -- the Supreme Court is
anti-democratic; the Senate is not only undemocratic but anti-democratic; the
Presidency because it depends on the undemocratic Electoral College hangs by
a democratic hair; and the most powerful corporations in the world are
anti-democratic. Because
our present forms of government do not protect our crucial rights, do not
uphold these crucial responsibilities, the American people is obligated to
undertake nonviolent action for needed change through elections, lobbying,
free speech, free press, and free assembly in marches, strikes, boycotts,
sit-ins, teach-ins, rallies, vigils, and prayer. To
the achievement of these goals, with the help of the Holy Interbreathing
Spirit of all life, and through our covenant with each other, we pledge our
commitment, our nonviolent action, and our sacred honor. The
Shalom Center |
|||||||||
The Dilemma Of
The Fourth Of July
By Mark Charles, Native News Online. Popular
Resistance.org (7-5-22). This is the
dilemma that Native ‘Americans’ face every day. The foundations of the United
States of America are blatantly unjust. This land was stolen. Native peoples,
Africans and many other minority communities have long been recipients of
systemic racism. And the roots of it are right there for the entire world to
see, printed in many of our founding documents; like the Declaration of
Independence, the Constitution and United States Supreme Court case rulings. We
announce it. We flaunt it. We celebrate it.. As a nation we embrace this
history because we are largely ignorant of the true nature of our... -more-
The Terrible
Origins Of July 4th
By Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report. Popular
Resistance (7-4-22). The July 4
holiday in the United States commemorates the signing of the Declaration of
Independence in 1776. Anyone educated in this country has been propagandized
with lies about patriotic colonists seeking freedom from a tyrannical British
monarch. Our minds were filled with tales of Paul Revere and Betsy Ross which
erase the role that indigenous and Black people played as they attempted to end
true tyranny over their lives. The present day traditions of enjoying cookouts,
vacations, and fireworks should not obscure the true meaning of this
date. -more-
How many are not free?
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Jul 4, 2021, 3:06 PM (17 hours ago) |
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Friends – When the Continental Congress
approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, their proclamation
of freedom and equality for all was not true. As its inspiring words were
read outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia, tens of thousands of people
were in bondage and millions more would become enslaved in the years that
followed. Freedom as America has
defined and implemented it has never included everyone, and the impact of
centuries of chattel slavery followed by decades of racial terror and Jim
Crow segregation continues to be lived and felt here in Arkansas to this day.
From our increasingly segregated public education system, to mass
incarceration and police violence, racism and white supremacy continue to
take a devastating toll on Black communities across Arkansas. That's why the Fourth of
July should be a day not only for celebration, but also a moment to recommit
to making true the promise broken the day the Declaration of Independence was
signed. Now more than ever, we
cannot build a more just and equitable future without repairing the harms of
our past. Confronting our past is
the first step towards building a more just and equitable future for all. But simply reckoning
with systemic injustices is not enough. Informed action is required too.
That's why we strongly support reparatory justice. Thank you, ACLU of Arkansas Google 2021, 8 items on Interdependence
Day. https://www.bostonglobe.com ›
2021/06/29 › opinion › t... Here's
a sample from my thank-you list. Who's on yours? By Eric S. LanderUpdated
June 29, 2021, 2:58 p.m.. Globe staff illustration/Adobe. With
COVID-19 ... https://www.youtube.com ›
watch 2
hours ago — July 4, 2021The
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 9The Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr.
Preaching“Interdependence Day” https://www.youtube.com ›
watch 31 This
video is the Unitarian Universalist of Greater Lansing Worship for July 4,
2021Order of WorshipPrelude ... 8 hours ago · Uploaded by UU Church Greater Lansing https://www.linkedin.com ›
pulse › january-4th-happy-int... Jan
4, 2021 — July 4th celebrates one
pole of America's magnetic leadership from the past; January 4th will
celebrate the other for the future, balancing ... https://www.paragkhanna.com ›
americas-interdepende... In
the age of globalisation, isolation is impossible. 12 September is an apt way
to symbolise the transition, one that is occurring globally in a myriad of
contexts, ... https://dailyprogress.com ›
opinion › columnists › opinio... 15
hours ago — Broadly speaking, the
meaning of American independence refers to ... She had recorded it just a couple of days before her tragic
death, and it climbed to No. ... about what freedom means in 2021 America, those
desolate lines ... https://www.whitehouse.gov ›
ostp › 2021/06/30 › icy... ICYMI:
The Boston Globe (Op-Ed): This Year, Independence
Day is also Interdependence Day.
June 30, 2021 • OSTP Blog. By: White ... We're eager to celebrate
our independence from the coronavirus and get back to normal life. But
before ... |
END
INTERDEPENDENCE DAY ANTHOLOGY #5, JULY 4, 2023
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