2006-07-05
Patriotism and the Fourth of July by Howard Zinn
In celebration of the Fourth of July there will be many speeches about the young people who "died for their country." But those who gave their lives did not, as they were led to believe, die for their country; they died for their government. The distinction between country and government is at the heart of the Declaration of Independence, which will be referred to again and again on July 4, but without attention to its meaning.
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I agree with much of this essay, though Zinn uses his reverence for limitted govt only to oppose all wars (though he doesn't address the justness of FDR's invasions of Europe, Africa, and Asia, or Lincoln's invasion of southern states), but not to oppose a complicated tax system, forcing all citizens to pay for child education only at govt-run schools, etc.
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