David Kaib said something that might seem very small at first. But it's about language, and language is about defining reality, and (a) that's the first step to changing reality and (b) that's very much what today's little exercise here on Open Left is all about:
Here's my hope
That we can start with the small step of calling this day Independence Day, not Fourth of July. It recently struck me how odd it is to refer to the day by its date - the only holiday I can think of we do that for. Is there any doubt that his is because of its political content - like so much political language, this seems to be an example of "blunt[ing] the too sharply pointed."
From there, I hope that we can reconnect with the meaning of today (this post by Paul, and Mike's above, are great starts) and other holidays - like MLK and Labor Day. Perhaps we might also use this day as a chance to think about the ways we have yet to root out royalism / aristocracy in our culture - whether that be the way we treat presidents, senators, celebrities, or the rich. Or perhaps maybe (it's a small thing, I know), I could go to the grocery store and not have to see magazines detailing the lives of British princes
I couldn't think about any of the above-Independence Day, reclaiming meaning, calling things by their true names--without immediately thinking about another, closely-related meaning of "Independence Day," the Gretchen Peters song made famous by Martina McBride, a song which embodies its own set of contested meanings that resonate powerfully with what we've been talking about here today, and which became a part of campaign contest last fall. Here's the Wikipedia entry on its background:
The lyrics tell a story of a woman's response to domestic abuse, seen from the point of view of her daughter. The song's music video was somewhat controversial at the time of its release, because of its graphic depiction of domestic violence. The ending of the video is particularly intense, as it shows the young girl's home burning to the ground, implying that the mother had been responsible for the fire, and that she and the abusive father both perished in the fire.
The lyrics have a double meaning in that the woman in the story is finally gaining her "freedom" from her abusive husband. Thus, it is her "independence day." The title also refers to the fact that the events noted in the song happened on America's Independence Day, or July 4.
And its use in politics:
Writer Gretchen Peters has objected to Hannity's use of the song, and engaged in a "personal protest" by donating to organizations such as ACLU, PFLAG and MoveOn.org. When the song was used to introduce Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin at a rally in October 2008, Peters publicly announced that she considered the use of the theme, in view of Palin's opposition to abortion even in cases of rape and incest to be "beyond irony" and that "[Palin] represented the opposite of what this song really is all about". She said that she intended to donate all royalties from the song during the election cycle to Planned Parenthood, in Gov. Palin's name.
I would have embeded the video as part of this diary, but embeding has been disabled. It's quite powerful, and you can see it here. Lyrics on the flip.
Well she seemed all right by dawn's early light though she looked a little
Worried and weak
She tried to pretend he wasn't drinkin' aagain but daddy left
The proof on her cheek
And I was only eight years old that summer and I always seemed to be in the way
So I took myself down to the fair in town on
Independence day
Well word gets a round in a small, small town
They said he was a dangerous man
But mama was proud and she stood her ground
She knew she was on the losin' end
Some folks whispered some folks talked but everybody looked the other way
And when time ran out there was no one about on Indpendence day
Chours: Let freedom ring.
Let the white dove sing
Let the whole world know that today is a day of reckoning.
Let the weak be strong.
Let the right be wrong.
Roll the stone away. Let the guilty pay.
It's independence day
Well she lit up the sky that Fourth of July
by the time the firemen came they just put out the flames and took down some names
And send me to the county home
Now I ain't sayin' it's right or it's wrong,
but maybe it's the only way.
Talk about your revolution. It's Indepenednce Day
