Independence Day in America is a very good thing.
We celebrate the founding principles of our country and our independence from the British .
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
Speaking of the "consent of the governed" Cairo, Egypt is burning again. So are Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and bits of Pakistan and Lebanon. Somalia and Yemen are still ungoverned. Bangladesh is still a dangerous place to live and work. One year after the Arab Spring we've entered a hot Arab Summer, and a lot of the governed are not giving their consent. July 3 saw the military oust the government of Mohammed Morsi. The military appears to support a more secular approach than the Muslim Brotherhood. With the country split nearly 50/50 on this issue, solutions may be hard to achieve. Violent protests erupted. Another quote from our Declaration of Independence seems to apply:
--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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
Edward Snowden's "strange strange trip" continued as he moved from Hong Kong to Russia. Taking a cue from Tom Hanks depiction of Viktor Navorski in the 2004 movie
The Terminal, Snowden spent part of July confined to the Moscow airport transit area. He's neither in nor out. The press fell for a fake and got diverted to Cuba. Where Snowden will wind up remains the topic of many an office pool. Unlike Navorski, Snowden's home country is very much interested in securing his return. We can all hope that this is resolved more quickly than the 17 years it took
Mehran Karimi Nasseri, the real life Terminal Man to gain release from the Charles DeGaulle, Paris transit area.
The Snowden episode is triggering debate after debate. First was the debate about the appropriateness of the NSA's activities. The old debate about safety vs freedom surfaced briefly, and our leaders assured us they were on the job, and we could have both. Second we saw a debate about whistle blowers. The old names resurfaced and asked that we remember their contributions. There was Ellsberg and the Pentagon papers, then NSA's last whistleblower Thomas Drake expressed support for Snowden. Valerie Plame and her husband Joe Wilson's who warned about WMD in Iraq published a scathing op ed in the Guardian. Even Siebel Edmonds, the FBI translator who warned about Turkey, surfaced through her Boiling Frogs website. Bradley Manning was in the news as his long awaited Wikileak courts martial began. Rumors that Julian Assange was supporting Snowden topped the cake. Lingering fears about Chinese and Russian spy agencies resurfaced when Snowden hid first in Hong Kong then Moscow. Now we are seeing a debate about the legitimacy of international asylum as our adversaries Venezuela and ostensible friends Bolivia and Nicaragua compete for Snowden.
We watched the Tennis Championships at Wimbledon. This year Americans found themselves in the awkward position of rooting for a Brit to win. This would have been treason in 1776. Andy Murray complied by edging out Serb Novak Djokovic in a straight set that was much closer than the set score revealed.
The other pitiful news stories that dominated public attention included the Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin trial and some food channel star's 30 year old unforgivable/unfortunate comment. The local appeal of these two stories highlights the fact that New Orleans has done little to solve its number one problem.
In New Orleans its was HOT. That is the nature of July. People get testy.