Happy 4th (er, 3rd) of July
Happy 4th (er, 3rd) of July
Did you dress in red, white, and blue? These folks did.
Photos by Mark Fernquest, Diana Rich and the Sebastopol Police Department
Another great 3rd of July celebration in Sebastopol. We’re always intrigued by (and a little jealous of) people who go all out with the red, white and blue. Here are some pics from last night’s celebration. The photo essay is followed by a short essay by Peacetown’s Jim Corbett on what he calls “Interdependence Day.” — The editors
A different take on Independence Day: Interdependence Day
By Peacetown’s Jim Corbett
In Peacetown we celebrate July 4th as Inter-dependence Day, because that is more the reality of life. We are not separate and independent from one another. We are forever inter-dependent Beings totally relying on one another to keep the wheels turning. Being interdependent is the beauty of the whole system. Everyone doing their part to make the whole work. Are there chinks in the system? Yes, we could use lots of system upgrades, but those are dependent on our government creating better systems. Don’t hold your breath!
But everything works dependently. The grocery store, needs the wholesale supplier; the supplier needs the farmer, and the hundreds of food products; the farmer needs land, water, sun, and air, and laborers to tend his fields. All systems are interdependent, and that’s the way it should be. It is so easy to forget when you go into the grocery store and pick up any item, how many hands have been involved in getting it onto the shelf. Lots of people you will never meet are working to make your life easier. Thank you lots of people.
If we were truly independent we would die. How long would you last if you had to raise your own food. No man is an island. We need one another, and we should remember that when we vilify others that we may not agree with. The false categories of Red/Blue, Black/White, Rich/Poor, Man/Woman etc. are all ways of trying to separate us. We are NOT separate. We are dependent and interdependent with each other for all we are and all we have.
I really love our Red, White and Blue Flag, because to me it represents the ideals of America. To Me Red is for Love, White is for Peace, and Blue is for Truth. That’s my Red, White and Blue.
May the 4th Be With You!!!
I salute the idea of "Did you dress in red, white & blue?"--that inter-dependence is the only possible way to live and that the better we support each other, the better lives all of us have. Just one thing: Why is it that, in the twenty-first century, in "liberal" Sebastopol, the author still uses the original wording of the quote "No man is an island"? How about "No one is an island"? Wve've been telling you this for half a century.