The Fourth of July again

This year I'm reposting some earlier fourth of July articles.

- សតិវ​ អតុ

The 4th of July, 2011

Most years I write about the importance of the US revolution. It was not only a break with England, but a part of the “Republican” revolution against feudalism and the era of capitalism. That change had to happen. I usually point out that we led to the French Revolution and those in Central and South America that brought about BREIF independence from Europe, to be followed later by dominance of the US.

Here in the US it was a white man’s revolution. Women could not vote. Voters had to have property. Black folks were slaves and even the free couldn’t vote. Indians couldn’t vote for more than a century later and they were considered “savages” by the new ruling elite. We had some enlightened men as Thomas Jefferson and Tom Payne.

So that is the good side of the revolution. We now need a new revolution to wipe out capitalism.

Many of us are waiting for that to happen. In the meantime, I suppose we can buy fireworks and blow the crap out of stuff.

For the rest click here.

Happy 1/4 - Now we need a 1/5 (revised)

This year I plan to light off fireworks and take part in a family cook out with my family. That is about the extent of it. I just don’t find a whole lot to celebrate on the 4th of July anymore. But I do like to remind people that there are a few good things about the US revolution, as well as some not-so-good things. So here a slight revamp of an earlier piece:

The most important thing about the US revolution was that it served as a turning point from Feudalism to capitalism, one of the shifts that Karl Marx believed was important in his stages of human economic and political development: From Feudalism to Capitalism, from Capitalism to Socialism, from Socialism to Communism.

For the rest click here.

Pix from ipcblog.org and fox19morning.blogspot.com.