Fourth of July

Occasionally I feel regret over not having served in the military. My family was able to come to the US and build a new life here, one far better in every imaginable sense than we ever could in the country we left, and it has frequently seemed to me that I ought to have done something more than just being a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen, to express gratitude. When I stop to think about it, however, I realize that not only would I have been miserable in the military, I would have made a terrible soldier. I have a deep-seated, pervasive mistrust of authority. Not in a knee-jerk, teenage rebellion sort of way, but – I would like to think – in a way that a thinking, seeking, questioning, scientifically skeptical person questions any purported wisdom dispensed from above. In fact, the ability – no, imperative – to question authority is the greatest expression of the American ideal of freedom of speech, thought and expression. We, as a society, are unique in our respect for that kind of skepticism, or at least in the extent to which is has permeated our way of thinking about government. Say what you will about the Patriot Act or the encroachment of fundamentalist religious thinking on education in certain parts of the country. I still maintain that the US is unique in its respect for individuality in thought. Happy Fourth of July, everyone.