Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Celebrating the True Meaning of Politics on July 4th

For the framers, the ability to take part in politics was the whole point of establishing the nation.

July 1, 2017 at 2:09 PM UTC

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

The framers had one big point.
Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

It's time for July 4th, otherwise known as Independence Day. It's one of my favorite holidays for all the reasons you'd suspect: flags, patriotic songs, and fireworks. But I'm uneasy with the trend towards making the U.S. military might the centerpiece of the occasion.

Without reservations, I'm all for the post-Vietnam agreement that we'll all appreciate the troops regardless of how we feel about the wars they fight. But we have two national holidays for those who fought. That's appropriate, but it's also sufficient.