It has been almost 250 years since the USA declared its independence from Great Britain, and it IS good that we are no longer a British colony. We could say that that battle was clearly won a long time ago. In 2024 we might see that our current challenge as human beings, and as Americans, is the recognition and realization that we are not separate from our environment or from each other; that we are inter-dependent.
Focusing on our inter-dependence with pollinators and other insects, bacteria and fungi, birds and other creatures, might help us to be better farmers and gardeners. Focusing on our inter-dependence with our air and water might help us to take care of our planet so our children will have a decent place to live.
Focusing on our inter-dependence with all the other human beings in our world might help us to improve the economy and living conditions of those folks desperate to come to prosperous countries. Realizing our inter-dependence could help us share the earth and our resources without crowding and desperation.
Seeing our inter-dependence and diversity might help us to recognize our responsibilities toward other beings, and it can also make it clearer that we could make mutually beneficial partnerships that could improve our own health and prosperity. Generosity, like greed, is contagious.
On July 4th, let’s celebrate our independence and let us also celebrate our inter-dependence.