July 4th and Other Misconceptions

When I was standing out on my deck trying to see the fireworks rising above the trees in the fort near my house, I couldn’t help but think about what our ‘independence’ meant all those years ago. Most of the men who fought that war, including those in the North, had slaves.  So what did ‘freedom for all’ mean to them?  Of course they were also treasonous to England, the country that had colonized this one.  Sometimes treason is necessary, right?  But who decides?   How many countries have we colonized, or tried to, under the guise of ‘giving them democracy’?  How the hell does any country ‘give’ another democracy?  Wouldn’t the citizens of said country have to choose that form of government for themselves?  Isn’t that the basis of democracy?  Watching Bree Newsome take down the confederate flag last  week, I couldn’t help remembering what I was taught, both in junior high and in high school: that the civil war had not been fought over slavery, that the major issue was states’ rights.  I was a kid, and though I questioned a lot, and had many problems (including being called a communist and kicked out of my history class in the 7th grade!), I didn’t think to ask what ‘right’ the states were fighting for:  duh, the right to have slaves?  So I asked myself as I watched the exploding display:  what exactly am I celebrating?  And are we finally starting to take an honest look at our own history as a country, instead of spouting platitudes?  Are kids still taught that states’ rights was the main issue of the civil war?  No one I saw interviewed after that horrific shooting in mid July of nine black Christians in a church study group, said that the war was fought over anything besides slavery.  Does that mean we’ve moved forward in this discussion?  I don’t really think so, but maybe the tragedy has caused a crack that can’t be easily filled, and if so, that would be a very good thing.  Still, why does it seem that  tragedy is the only thing that  forces us to honestly examine our country or ourselves?  Is this as true for other countries as it is for America?  And if not, what does that say about us?