June 24, 2004
Declaration for a new Independence
by Leigh Barrett
For most Americans living in the US, July 4th has taken on the ritual status of a quasi-religious holiday. It's a national day of flag-waving parades, barbecue, picnics and fireworks at dusk. Like most ritual behaviors, we don't often stop and consciously think about what we are doing and why. It's Tradition. Yes, it represents our country's freedom from a militaristic colonial power, but that event occurred almost two and half centuries ago and since, England has become the closest political ally of the United States. As concerned women and citizens, it's time to stop, and ask ourselves if these cherished government sponsored rituals aren't due for a little conscious reflection and re-working.
I'd like to propose that this year instead of focusing on the bombs bursting in air in the form of fireworks, we turn our thoughts to the present and to the future. What can we and should we do as thoughtful citizens to protect and celebrate our American Independence?
Although the Declaration of Independence was composed with the sexism inherent to the English language, its authors still wrote an eloquent list of grievances against a tyrannical militaristic colonial power. The most well known line is surely this one: "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." (Indeed, they were talking about all free white men, not women, nor people of color and wherein lies the thorn that has been poking at us ever since and has kept us out of decision making processes.)
So, let's decide what meaning the above phrase has for us. Looking at life in today's America, it's clear that these self-evident truths have yet to be put into practice for the majority. Women, be aware! We are not living the American Dream, and the way it is presently defined, we don't want to. Instant gratification makes for pleasant days in the short term. In the long run, however, a lifetime of living on credit, grabbing up lots of meaningless "stuff" to decorate our houses and bodies and having an "everyone for themselves" attitude with respect to salary and especially health care, hurts everyone in the end. And if somehow we are convinced that we are living the Dream, we need only to lose our job, and the accompanying health care benefits, have a family member fall ill with a catastrophic illness or even lose our regular babysitter to find that overnight, the Dream quickly spirals downward into a Nightmare.
Let's take a look at these notions of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness and determine how we can finally bring them into being.
Life…. means Freedom from Precariousness. We want a Life without undue stress. We want to stop worrying from day to day that we will be unemployed or underemployed, can't pay the bills, can't buy medicine. We need the ability to make a living, and not the $5.20 or so of minimum wage. We need to insure that All of our citizens are paid a fair wage for their work. I need a decent living wage to pay for food, clothe my family and to have a solid roof overhead, shouldn't I want the same for you? Celebrating our Independence should mean being able to enjoy Good Health. That includes being able to see a health care provider when we are sick; to get vaccinations and dental care; to be able to afford medicine. We need to be able to decide for ourselves when and if we will have children and how many and what kind of contraception we will use. How do we get these things? We go out in the street and make a lot of Noise for the neighbors, media, congressional representatives, and we Vote, Vote, Vote.
Life also means... Independence from the Energy Suckers. That means You decide how to spend Your Life Time. The Energy Suckers are very insidious, and as women and caregivers, we are taught that our role as Energy Provider is a normal one. In our new reality of Independence, you don't owe a hundred percent of your life time to anyone but you…not to your boss, nor to your partner, nor children , nor parents. Of course you want to be a good family member, partner and worker, but people making unfair demands and those who say they cannot live without you, either need alternative caregivers or need to learn some responsibility. If your employer can't do without you even when you are sick, then it is poor planning on their part. Every adult quickly learns that it is easier to clean up the mess than to get the kids to do it. ..but we need to stop. Partners who are using up all of our energy in order to realize their dreams need to learn the meaning of true partnerships. This is easily put into practice at the next holiday gathering… if you do the cooking, then You get to go take the nap while someone else cleans up. Calmly inform the energy suckers of your expectations and don't back down. When they all get down on the floor and wail…including your boss, spouse and mother-in-law, you walk right out the door and go for a walk around the block, or better yet, go to that Aikido class you have been putting off for the past ten years. The more you practice Independence, the easier (and more fun) it gets.
Liberty… let's practice Independence of Thought. Stop listening to "what They say". Who are "They" anyway? You know all of the preconceived ideas "they" have been cramming our brains with since birth? It's time to throw away rigid definitions about how we should work, live, worship, believe. We have brains that work as well (and more practically) than the big invisible "They". For example, Patriotism is a word that we toss around a lot now, thinking it to mean "love of country" (it's actually, "love of the Fatherland"). Since September 11,2001, this word has lost it's original meaning, and become just another slogan. Let's take it's original meaning and talk about "Love of Country", instead. What does this mean to us? Is it a blind acceptance of government decisions that either don't represent us or blatantly ignore the our needs and those of our families? A protection of the dotted lines that indicate our borders as drawn on a map? As independently thinking women, we do not have to accept anything blindly. We can exercise our rights to vote, to group together, lobby, create new political parties and run for political office in order to change the laws that are depriving us and our friends and neighbors of health and well-being. I know we can find of other ways to celebrate and show our Love of Country and of Liberty… something centered around respect for people, animals, ecosystems and interconnectedness with each other and the world beyond those dotted lines.
The pursuit of Happiness…starts with Freedom from Barriers. Poverty, Lack of Education and Discrimination of all types can be more difficult to get past than a razor wire fence. But these barriers present a wonderful opportunity for us to get involved with our neighbors in breaking down these fences. Every community either has or needs grassroots programs and volunteers. Find or create a program that addresses one of these barriers and tear down a razor wire fence in your neighborhood! Working locally, you witness firsthand the results of your work. Your circle widens to include new faces you mightn't otherwise have met, and your sense of Independence grows along with theirs.
Get talking! Make some noise! Become the name that your elected Representatives and local Newspaper know, because you are writing, phoning, sending emails and demanding change! Spread the word of our new Independence by doing what you do best…student, writer, secretary, teacher, artist, church-goer, someone with the gift of gab… find a way to use your talents. If you are already a member of a club or some kind of women's circle, devote one of your meetings to defining how to create a more peaceful, better world around you.
Life under Colonialism was unsupportable for the people living in America at the time the Declaration of Independence was drafted. Yet, today we are living in times more dire than our foremothers and forefathers could have ever imagined. What would they urge us to do now? Lay down and be trampled?… Or stand up and shout that we want our inalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Another World is possible. It's time!
( Leigh Andrea Barret is a writer, teacher and co-editor for The Journal of Women Thinking and Acting for Peace. Born and raised in rural Illinois and Ohio, she currently lives and works for feminism and peace from a village near Paris, France. She can be contacted at femmepeace@yahoo.com )