Toward Inter-dependence: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness in a Difficult World

By Holly Wren Spaulding
Sun contributor
On the fourth of July we were 20 friends gathered around a long wooden table for a meal of moussaka, rice and greens from the garden. It was a time for collective reflection, not for blowing things up. We didn’t miss the fireworks even slightly. Harriet Barlow, the great social justice activist and one of the minds behind such projects as The Tomales Bay Project which advocates for protecting the Commons, brought out a copy of the Declaration of Independence to be read after dinner. Was it high school when I last looked at this document? I needed a refresher.

Alexis De Veaux, an African American poet and writer stood to read, her voice rich and clear. A voice capable of bringing those words into the present. A magnum of wine was passed, and another, and then Baklava was served on every plate.
Amidst the bunting and barbecues one could almost forget that it was on this day in 1776 that the 13 American colonies unanimously declared their independence from Britain. This is a fraught history, the bulk of which I’ll not go into here, however it bears considering what the reasons for this occasion were, and how they are in dialogue with the present era.
The King of England, failing to be a force of good, was notified in no uncertain terms that, as the signers saw it, people are justified in rebelling against a government that violates their rights and impedes their ability to exercise self-determination. And so it begins: “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another …”
Forgive me if this seems remedial, but I was startled at how worthwhile it was to revisit this founding document. In the introduction and preamble, the drafters expose their rationale for declaring independence from the Crown, and were, as we remember them, thoughtful and judicious. They believed that in the effort to seek redress for their grievances and concerns, including the wish for a true and functional democracy, they had explored all of the other options available to them. Finally it had come to the point where more assertive actions were needed.
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men (sic), deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
The settlers had in mind a revolution, and the “repeated injuries and usurpations” of Americans’ rights and liberties are detailed, and King George III is indicted for, among other things, the following:
“He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.”
Does any of this sound familiar? Further on, the list of violations continues:
“He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.”
The list is long and the infractions are serious. Concluding the list of reasons for a revolution, are these words:
“In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
You can imagine that in certain company — and the company swells by the day — such a reading would result in plenty of head nodding, “uh-huhs,” and sighs of recognition and agreement. If you haven’t lately, consider re-reading this founding document. It is by no means without flaw or error, chief among them the contradiction in the introduction which states that “all men are created equal” while we know that several of the signers kept African slaves. Likewise, in the body of the text, Native Americans are referred to as “merciless savages.” It is a complex and in certain respects, troubled document, but it is also critical in the formation of this country as we know it. Perhaps in reading it we can remember some of our ancestral urges toward independence.
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Have you heard how Northern Vermont has lately produced a secessionist movement? They call themselves the 2nd Republic. No kidding. Without pronouncing on whether or not this is an effective strategy for political change, I did notice while I was there that people have an independent streak that is most notably expressed in terms of preserving land and solidifying local economies, especially with respect to renewable fuels and food. These are things worth emulating, even whilst embedded in a federal structure that is overwhelming, cumbersome and often lacking in mindfulness toward sustainability, true political participation or inter-dependence.
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It seemed like a grave and serious occasion to be gathered on July the Fourth. On the one hand, we have this opportunity to remember our history of rebellion against tyranny and illegitimate authority (while, unfortunately, at the same time our fore-bearers brought oppression upon this country’s first inhabitants). On the other, Independence Day does not give much attention to this these days. I’m not one for bombast and flag waving, and even less so when the flag is being plunged into the heart of another nation whose own independence is thus in peril. Hence, some of us thought a Fire of July would suit the mood.
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Circles are comprised of sensual swerving, curves, should be inclusive, contain many, and often invite good conversation. Fire is elemental, and being hot, we remove layers, imagine what can be burned, is burning, the flames eating toward some form of purification. In terms of psycho-geography and the above, one would do well to construct seating around a fire ring in such a way that those approaching feel welcomed, eager to participate as equals in a forum. Makers of fires should construct entrances through which to enter the circle, and to one side, heap kindling and wood. Turn off the house lights. Stay out until it is truly dark, then later still. Watch the stars flicker.
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Some of those assembled at our fire read poems, and everyone shared somber thoughts. It was a rare coterie, it being rare that any group of people will plunge into such unabashed acts of sincerity. Conversation turned from history to severe storms and recent cases of catastrophic weather — tremors, as we all saw it, portending an increasingly uncertain weather future. We’d been talking about the scale of human suffering in a world where conquest continues, where war is easy, fast, lethal and beyond our comprehension. We each had our own questions about what we can do, and what can be done. We all wonder how to comprehend what it means that today three young enlistees are dead from a roadside bomb? That a family has gone up in flames when the rocket missed its target? That million-year-old ice is melting. That dozens, hundreds, thousands yet to be counted, are having their lives cut short every week — for whom? For what? We read the papers, and we catch fragments of what is happening in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza; we turn the information over in our heads — or don’t. How can I feel the meaning of this stuff? The mind boggles, the heart numbs, the suffering of so many people and landscapes is relentless.
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Reading “Patriots for the American Land,” an essay about the Tongass National Forest by Richard Nelson, I find some solace in his words on how we can manifest our desire to truly belong and be helpful in a difficult world by caring for it: “This is the place that nurtures and sustains me; the place on which — and for which — I stand; the place where my engagement with democracy is rooted; the place where I have found an unbeckoned and unexpected sense of patriotism.” I know many people — though I wish I knew more — who express this sentiment in the work that roots them in Leelanau County. If we could each find our place, dig in, and do the work of giving care and fostering life, then the horrors of the world would have a better match, a force for good that might tip the balance.
Concluding his essay, Nelson says, “Working in service to the land is a powerful source of hope — the kind of hope that comes by doing something rather than standing by in the face of loss. By this I mean working to protect both the natural environment and the human traditions that infuse every place with power and meaning. There is real joy in this work . . . ”