It’s pretty quiet today in my house, though I have some Bach playing in the background. Bach in Mexico is as incongruous as the Fourth of July is here. Not many Mexicans care about Bach, though a few do. The cultural values are just different, viz., tacos and hot dogs. Like so many other holidays, the Fourth has lost its original purpose, celebrating the independence and founding of the USA. Today it’s the Big Holiday: three days off from work, barbecuing, drinking, the beach, family time. Fireworks are the only symbol of Independence Day left that makes sense.
And there isn’t much unity left in the old federalist vision of a mutually united United States, is there? Maybe there never was. I thought for a minute about comparing Trump to George Washington, a man of reason, humility and integrity. Well, no need to go further with that.
There are pockets of Americans in Mexico who do celebrate the Fourth—in places like Cabo and Cancun. But the American Fourth is quite different in tone and style from Mexican Independence Day on September 16th which features marching bands, parades, street food and folk festivals.
For me, American holidays have lost most of their meaning. I know that’s true for many of us whether we live at home or abroad. Big holidays are mostly about time off and Black Friday sales. Much has been written about the dessication of our holidays over time. It’s true even in my lifetime. The old parades and the fire trucks showed the kids some hometown spectacle. My mother used to call Memorial Day Decoration Day, its former name. Some still lament the commercialization of Christmas. Holidays are now major economic events, and that’s also becoming true in Mexico.
As the world has become more money-driven, it’s also turned more authoritarian, which implies a denial (or transmutation) of most historical values and traditions. I wish you a Happy Fourth of July anyway, and you might try putting on some Bach.