SEO Header Title

Stephen Swanson wonders what the big hoopla over “Independence Day” is.  Why would we want to be independent anyway?  Starting with a recognition of the co-opting of the season for commercial means, Stephen draws some lessons that go far beyond the irritation of the plethora of car dealers and rental shops who take to the airwaves between Memorial Day and the 4th to call for us  to, “C’mon in and show your independence to these low, low rates.”

The Frontier and an Independent Nation

 
We, in America and the nations influenced by our cultural exports, love to think of ourselves as continuing to exist on the edge between civilization and the dark abyss of evil.  This, of course, derives from the assumption of a lack of civilization on the part of the native peoples and the natural world present upon our arrival on these shores.  It continues today in the views of both the unseen and seen hordes of thieving immigrants or illegal aliens and the threats of the mysterious Muslims.

 
This fear led to a desire for the individual and small community to stand apart and free from these threats.  It evolved into the organized resistance to the distant and controlling monarchies, but somewhere that “organization” aspect dropped by the wayside and the myth of the Independent became dominant, and somehow that fear of disease, war, and famine has led to the celebration of the “I” through copious food, low lease rates, and a stainless steel refrigerator with the ice-maker in the door and the freezer on the bottom.

 
WHAT THE?!

 
What happened to shift the dream of not being at the mercy of those many layers of control from the dark ages on that turned it into a glorification of excess and self-centeredness?

 
The short answer is that “we” won.  In general, with military, economic, and cultural dominance, the western world has become the “King George” to the world.  We are able to claim ourselves “self-sufficient” and “free”.  However, the past year or so has shown us that is just not true.

 
Just as the mythos of the independent homesteader or cowboy holds lies at their cores that ignore the extensive support networks and high rate of failure, our current praise of “independence” ignores the inherently connected and often irrational nature of contemporary existence. Our freedoms, in all their Red, White, and Blue glory, thinly paint over the danger with a veneer of clarity and national pride.

 
All Hail the Interdependent

 
With the growing realization of the lessening availability of resources and the connectivity supported by the modern communications networks we must begin to eliminate, or at least heavily modify, the worship of independence. With the crash of the sub-prime mortgage markets, the growing energy crises, and international unrest (especially things like the resistance in Iran), we must be careful to do two things.

 
First, we must recognize our interconnectivity.  Our future survival and well-being cannot depend on higher walls, bigger guns, or more insular modes of being.  We must accept and speak out about the relationships that we already have with those around us, both near and far.

Futhermore, we must work to build those relationships stronger through informed respect and mutual honoring of our us-ness.  For too long independence has meant the equivalent of “Look at me!  Look at me!…or else.”  I, as the individual, have held the core of value, and things must work to benefit the most, or at least the richest, “I”’s.  It seems that a large need remains open for the development of stories, policies, lessons, and cultural texts of all sorts that celebrate the “us-ness”, not in merely a collectivist way, akin to Soviet communism, German national-socialism, or the frightening specter of contemporary US nationalism and exceptionalism.

We must look at the binds between ourselves and those both like and unlike us as potentially as valuable as we once held “standing on our own two feet” or “pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps”.  Independence closes ourselves off from others as much as it might allow us a certain freedom.  Rather, interdependence creates connections and holds hope for more.  We must voice the sources of our knowledge, love, strength, and hope.  It is not a sign of weakness to show help that we have gained from other.  It is a sign of strength and clarity that allows one to then be open to helping another and another…and another.

Stephen Swanson teaches as a lecturer of media and critical reading, thinking, and writing courses at Penn State-Erie, The Behrend College. He enjoys word games, his cats, and cooking and knitting with his wife and son. The majority of his “free” time is spent trying to keep up with the dozen or so “must-see” series on television with the help of his DVR. He holds degrees in Communications, Film, and Media and American Culture Studies from Calvin College, Central Michigan University, and Bowling Green State University, respectively. He edited a collection of essays entitled Battleground States: Scholarship in Contemporary America and is working on a book on ethical themes in classic and contemporary film noir.