JOHN CHUCKMAN COMMENT: FOR AMERICA'S INDEPENDENCE DAY, SOME "REALITY CHECKS" OFFERED BY OLDER PIECES

John Chuckman



On the topic of America's Independence Day, readers might enjoy the following older pieces. They’re not your everyday American school-textbook stuff, but a critical review of historical events and of a key figure in those events. I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade, and I’ve always greatly enjoyed fireworks, but I think it important to keep perspective in human affairs and not allow the pleasant fantasies of a holiday guide us through the deadly serious events of an entire year

If we could somehow do that consistently, I believe the world would become a better place. Myths and religious tales – and all extreme patriotism is just another form of religion, a secular form, with its own scriptures and saints and hymns - can be mighty dangerous stuff. Just look at the endless violence in Israel to see that vividly, violence in part engendered by the intense embrace of myths scribbled down in caves 2,500 years ago.



https://chuckmanwords.wordpress.com/2014/07/07/reflections-on-the-origins-and-meaning-of-americas-independence-day-re-posted-from-6-years-ago-nothing-having-changed/



https://chuckmanwordsincomments.wordpress.com/2019/04/03/john-chuckman-comment-the-remarkable-case-of-thomas-jefferson-he-wasnt-at-all-what-so-many-think-he-was-how-the-needs-of-politics-can-twist-and-exploit-historical-figures-and-myth-making-as-a/