Christened on the Fourth of July

I had been researching nostalgia for London’s pea-soup fogs of the 1950s and earlier, when I had the opportunity to experience one myself in Virginia. This was the acrid haze from Canadian wildfires, which have blanketed much of the eastern United States this week. While disconcerting to many residents, it reminded me of being in Bahrain and Dubai, where the sand mingles with the warm air. Leaving the United Kingdom behind, “America 250” would feel shallow if it was a veneer over crumbling foundations. Shortly before July 4th, the US Supreme Court affirmed the concept of birthright citizenship. This is the predominant practice in the Western Hemisphere, where one is automatically a citizen in the land of their birth. Citizenship by blood, as traditionally practiced in Asia and continental Europe, led to the problem of stateless residents when totalitarian governments stripped citizenship from undesired groups of people. I only recently learned that Britain practiced birthright citizenship until the end of its era of empire. So this principle of Americanism solidified, the celebration felt appropriate. With the plethora of available patriotic activities in June and July, one needed to chart their own course. Just one day, one week, or all month? There were naval and sailboat flotillas, the Great American state fair, vibe attire in red white and blue, firework shows small and great, and cancelled parades (it was a scorching week on the East Coast). I even came across Oliver Stone’s movie starring Tom Cruise, Born on the Fourth of July, watching it for the first time this year. To an extent, this annual celebration is a soft litmus test. Do you embrace the idea of the Fourth of July wholeheartedly, observe it dispassionately as a cultural phenomenon, or protest it? Overall, in communities across the nation, there is great staying power in the values of Mom and Apple Pie.