The Fourth of July There is nothing moresacred in the holidays of the United States than the Fourth of July. I am writing from across the northern borderin Calgary, Alberta where we just celebrated the bright red of Canada Day ofJuly 1. The young Canadianvisa officer who welcomed me at the airport asked how long I intended to stay,and had I been in Canada before, so I told him that I planned on being aroundfor a couple of weeks but that I lived in the 70s in Saskatchewan. He gave me a long face and said: “Oh, I feelsorry for you!” Perhaps, he was justshowing me an example of the Canadian understated sense of humor though I foundout later that there is a sporting rivalry and social competition between thetwo provinces. Some comments I madeof late on the U.S. sound anti-American. I do not consider myself a contrarian but it iswell to reflect on my country from outside its borders, particularly from theland of Justin Bieber who delights in the company of American ladies and TorontoMayor Rob Ford who sniffs the white snuff readily available in our streets;there is a sporting but competitive ambience between the two countries. One of the things weutter on the Fourth of July is our pledge of allegiance. "I pledgeallegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic forwhich it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justicefor all." A chronology of thepledge with additions in italics shows that the pledge began in 1892 simplyas: "Ipledge allegiance to my Flag and the republic for which it stands, one nationindivisible, with liberty and justice for all." By 1922, “and the republic” became “and to the republic”. By 1923, it became “allegiance to the Flag of the United States,” with “the United States of America” made specific by 1954, and finally, “one Nation under God,” from 1954 to the present. The religious amongstus quarreled over the addition of “under God” inserted during President Eisenhower’swatch, with the non-theist questioning the propriety of a loaded religiousphrase in a secular pronouncement. Thedebate continues, though no longer on the denominational divide in Christendomas it once was, to the issue of religious relevance in the secular, scientificand urban world. “Indivisible” is realityin progress. Satirist Borowitz in theNew Yorker wrote when Kerry urged Maliki to convene a unity government thatIraq might actually get a unity government before the United States gets closeto being one. PM Maliki, of course,junked Kerry’s suggestion since conflict rather than conciliation is the languageof relationship in the region of black gold. At least the Iraqis are forthright without the pretense we go throughcharade in the U.S. political process. On “liberty andjustice for all,” we strain hard to even come close to claiming that we areworking on the project. In 1866, thefirst Civil Rights Act was passed to protect the African-American former slaveswho became citizens to be treated equally under the law. That did not happen. It is now the 50th year of the CivilRights Act of 1964, almost a century after the 1866 Act, outlawingdiscrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. JFKstarted the ’64 Act, and LBJ the consummate Congressional master got it passedwithout much of a hitch, getting it refined in ’65 with the Voting Rights Act, addingequal housing in ’68, and the disabled, mentally ill, and the elderlythereafter. It remains a work inprogress though Obama gave the race issue a major dent from the discrimination Iencountered in ’65. So, “liberty and justice for all” remains a work inprogress, particularly if one lives in Castro District of SF in the Bay Areawith the LGBT crowd appropriately leading the WorldPride March this Fourth ofJuly, now observed as a multi-gender celebration around the world. Some of my colleagues now concede that thelegal status of same-sex marriage is a done deal (more pro States exceed the con), like the way the Civil Rights Act1964 led to the legal emancipation of the African-American from the structuresof racial segregation, but the specifics of the unraveling remain a painfulordeal to many. “Outlawing discrimination based on race, color,religion, sex, or national origin” was the ’64 Civil Rights Act’s intent. New Zealand’s 17 percent Maori made thecountry bilingual, and the 14 percent Asians that include rich Chinese has somefolks talking about a multilingual civil society. There are many in the U.S. who wants to retain an“English” only national character though signage in some States and majorcities are in “Spanish and English”. Werecently commented how many residents are from Asia and Mexico west of theRockies. With the Mongolian NativeAmericans, the west coast of America might just as well be the East Pacificcoast of Asia! So the Fourth of July is no longer just recalling the heroicpatriots and militiamen of Concord and Lexington of pre-1776 declaration ofIndependence. The Fourth of July in ourtime is a celebration of the harmony in diversity that is a possible choice ofcitizens in a landmass shrinking in the digitized world. Nosdejo. Let’s. Soyons. j'aime la vie pinoypanda2031@aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!