July 4th is the date of the American Declaration of Independence from England, and as such, the American celebration of July 4th is therefore intended to celebrate that independence.  But over the years, of course, the celebration has come to both celebrate and incorporate far more than notions of independence.  July 4th is now an expression of patriotism, and that includes trappings that have accumulated over the centuries: fireworks displays, John Phillip Souza marches, hot dogs, apple pie, and picnics, a paid federal holiday, and armed forces salutes.  But what lurks in the background of these other manifestations is perhaps the real object of celebration: not just independence, but sustainability, for there is implicit in the piling on of the July 4th tableau, an American appreciation of its own longevity.  For over two hundred years, an independent American nation, derived from its British forebear, has sustained.
 
And while there’s much to appreciate and admire in that record, as any listener of this show knows, there is also much of concern that has developed within this independent American nation.  For starters, the very reliance on independence itself, both at the individual and national level, as a sole means of accomplishing ends, often ignoring the role that community has to play in life.  The very communal aspect of July 4th celebrations should bring Americans back to an understanding of the importance of community, but it doesn’t always seem to do so.  The development of industrial agriculture, with its lack of independence from chemicals and mistreatment of animals, is not sustainable, and would not have been appreciated by the American Founders.  The extraordinary amount of waste of materials and energy in our country is not sustainable, nor would it have been appreciated by the American Founders.  The insecurity of community support systems in the forms of retirement, education, and health care are not sustainable.  The violent and unwelcome invasions of other countries are not sustainable.  The lack of rigorous investment analysis at all levels – federal, corporate, local, and individual – is certainly not sustainable, and if not changed, will bankrupt us.
 
In the end, a failure by our country to make its unsustainable practices sustainable, may well make first the notion, and then the reality, of an independent American nation unsustainable.  For a sustainable nation cannot be built on unsustainable foundations.  For some, the American Constitution is the only required foundation.  But increasingly for many others, daily, routine practices must also be sustainable for the proper national foundations to exist.  For us, therefore, July 4th is not only an unmitigated celebration of happiness, but also a time to recognize the work ahead.  For us, all holidays are like that: they carry reward for the past, but burden for the future.
 
The American Founders themselves probably took their own celebrations in such fashion: with equal parts happiness and determination.  They understood that they had much to celebrate, but also much work ahead.  It is not hard to imagine, therefore, that the American Founders, those who bravely declared independence from a power thought by everyone else to be far stronger, would feel far more at home in company with those of us dreaming and working for a sustainable America and a sustainable world.
 
I’m Leo Gold.  This is The New Capital Show.