Independence is a myth. Or a lie. It’s impossible, anyway. You don’t live alone, as a person or as a nation. As human beings we depend on other people and on our planet. We depend on natural resources like coal and wood. We need other people to make our clothes and our shoes and our cars. No person can make everything they need to survive on their own, and that isn’t a modern world thing. It has never been possible.
So, stop. Embrace your dependence. Embrace the web of love, logistics and finance that gives us all a way to live in this world. Think of the people who grow our food, and the people who drive the trucks that deliver it. Think of the people you care about. The ones who make you laugh, and the ones who sit with you when you cry.
No one is alone in this world. Identify your connections, and appreciate them. Our ties to other people aren’t tying us down. They’re holding us up.
Happy fourth of July to all who celebrate! I love my country, with all its terrible flaws.
