We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–Declaration of Independence

Cars are lined up and down the street.

People are drinking and smoking in their back yards.

Some will go see fireworks later.

Some will twirl sparklers.

The nail salon sign says, “Close 4th of July.  Happy Independent Day.”

I barely think about the Declaration of Independence.

All men are expected to read Thomas Jefferson or biographies of Thomas Jefferson.

All women are expected to read Laura Ingalls Wilder (a children’s writer).

I read aloud parts of Reporting Vietnam (Library of America) to the English class I taught.

“They lied to us,” said General Westmoreland.

There were some Desert Storm vets in the class.

There were men and women who had served prison terms for drug possession.

Laura Ingalls Wilder wouldn’t have gone down well with these students.

9/11 burned while I was teaching.

We didn’t know what had happened.

My boss, upset about the jingoism, dropped one knee to the floor and pretended to cock a gun.

“I served in Vietnam,” he said.

He used to play in a band.

I was never in a band.

I once dated the manager of a band.

Bands define us.

I don’t remember the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

I dropped one knee to the floor and recited, arma virumque cano

It’s an anti-war poem.

If I see another Civil War artefact on Antiques Road Show, I am turning off the TV.

I have never been to Gettsyburg.

There are many military crosses in the cemetery.

The U.S. went to war in 2003.

I dropped a friend who watched it on TV and thought it was entertaining.

I taught some anti-war poetry.

It doesn’t take much to impress people.

I question how independent I’ve ever been.

I barely made a living off my liberal arts education.

It took me years to realize I would never make as much money as my husband.

Love and relationships have been more important to me than money.

Most of us have married.

Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Doris Lessing and Erica Jong have made very little difference.

Most women have children, but very few of my friends do.

You are supposed to do everything if you are female.

Some of us had to read and write.

We couldn’t do everything.

When the waitress told me she was joining the Army, I felt numb.

pro patria mori?