Can We Celebrate Our Independence on November 3 This Year?

A Saturday Proposal

Can this be November 3rd? (Photo by Adam Gray via Getty Images)

Last Saturday I asked, “What Will This July 4th Mean to You?” I wanted to take your pulse in the week leading up to the 250th year since our nation’s founding. Many of you talked about your plans to spend time today with family and friends, but there was not much of a feeling for celebrating. The weight of Donald Trump and the condition of our democracy hangs heavy.

One subscriber, Jack, summarized the dark thoughts plainly. “A celebration?” he asked. “More like a funeral.”

Another subscriber, Cindy, underscored Jack’s outlook. “I just can't see celebrating the worst thing to happen to our country in generations,” she said. “I'd like to go hide somewhere.”

One other subscriber, Mary, joined this chorus. She described her “feeling of forbidding not hope.” Her plan for the day? “Our family will celebrate subdued and uncertain. Waiting for the other shoe to fall.”

I get it. It’s hard to strike up the band when the last thing you want to do is have a party. Nonetheless, I do hope that many of us will enjoy this day one way or another and not let the White House malignancy succeed in blotting out the sun. (While Trump has taken the day hostage by planning a long speech on the National Mall, the 100 degree-plus temperatures could cut that nightmare short.)

I also hope this day might still be a chance to rewind 250 years and remember that the revolutionaries seeking independence were confronting an oppressive, tyrannical monarchy. And that same fighting spirit can be a source of energy and optimism now. As I put it last weekend:

Perhaps this complicated 4th of July will be the inspiration that an overwhelming majority of Americans need to take a stand this November and defend democracy, justice and the rule of law. That presumes enough Americans recognize that we cannot allow a corrupt and despotic regime—indifferent to the needs of the people—to continue to wreak havoc in its quest for maximum wealth and unfettered power.

That brings me to the idea that, in this semiquincentennial year, we can honor our nation’s founding on November 3 (and in the days leading up to it) with an overwhelming turnout for a midterm vote that makes crystal clear Americans have had enough. That means saying with a definitive voice that we will not be silenced, that we demand change and that Donald Trump’s authoritarian regime must be soundly defeated and held accountable for its corruption and crime.

That sounds to me like the real Independence Day 250.

Imagine how sweet that November celebration will be. Quite a good reason for fireworks. A glass of champagne. Dancing in the streets.

Spread the word.

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