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Jill Lawrence\/<\/a>MSNBC:<\/p>\n Seeing the erosion of our freedoms makes it onerous to have fun this Fourth of July<\/strong><\/p>\n The Supreme Court docket, conservative governors and gerrymandered state legislatures are racing to shrink our elementary rights and freedoms.<\/em><\/p>\n In a 16-year span, George W. Bush and Donald Trump misplaced the favored vote however gained the presidency. That may be a system failure. It’s not truthful or democratic, and it led on to at present\u2019s unbalanced Supreme Court docket. 5 of the six conservative justices have been appointed by these two presidents. Eliminating the Electoral Faculty would take a constitutional modification, which is at all times a tough promote. However consider the arguments you possibly can make to each events. There are\u00a0<\/span>over 5 million<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>registered Republicans in California whose votes would lastly depend. Wyoming\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>nearly 23,000<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>Democrats would additionally think about.<\/p>\n Purple and blue states are usually not monolithic. Due to this fact, we should always cease pretending, for instance, that there aren’t any injured events when pink states ban abortion or make it straightforward for youngsters and careless folks to purchase no matter weapons they need \u2014 no permits or instruction required. We also needs to cease pretending that we’re 50 walled-off states, every deciding what number of freedoms we should always take pleasure in or what number of it will get to limit. Weapons cross state strains. Individuals who want abortions cross state strains. We’re on this collectively, and Congress and the courts ought to be defending our rights \u2014 not encouraging a free-for-all that leaves some states with far much less democracy than others and a few Individuals feeling far much less equal than others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Tom Nichols<\/a>\/The Atlantic:<\/p>\n Reclaiming Actual American Patriotism<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This Fourth of July, let\u2019s rescue our love of nation from those that have hijacked it.<\/em><\/p>\n I used to be awash in ideas of lobster rolls and salt water as I neared the dunes. After which that rattling tearjerker of\u00a0<\/span>a John Denver song<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>about West Virginia got here on my automotive radio.<\/p>\n The music isn\u2019t even actually concerning the Mountain State; it was impressed by locales in Maryland and Massachusetts. However I’ve been to West Virginia, and I do know that it’s a stunning place. I’ve by no means wished to stay anyplace however New England, but each time I hear \u201cTake Me Residence, Nation Roads,\u201d I perceive, even when just for a couple of minutes, why nobody would ever wish to stay anyplace however West Virginia, too<\/p>\n That\u2019s once I skilled the jolt of a sense we used to consider as patriotism: the joyful love of nation. Patriotism, not like its ugly half brother,\u00a0<\/span>nationalism<\/a>, is rooted in optimism and confidence; nationalism is a bitter inferiority complicated, a sullen attachment to blood-and-soil fantasies that’s at all times trying overseas with insecurity and even hatred. As an alternative, I used to be taking within the New England shoreline however seeing in my thoughts the Blue Ridge Mountains, and I felt moved with surprise\u2014and gratitude\u2014for the miracle that’s the US.<\/p>\n How I miss that feeling. As a result of normally once I consider West Virginia as of late, my first thought tends to be:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>red state<\/em><\/a>. I now see many citizens there, and in different states, as my civic opponents. I do know that a lot of them doubtless hear \u201cBoston\u201d and so they, too, consider a spot full of their\u00a0<\/span><\/span>blue-state<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>enemies. I really feel that I\u2019m at an ideal distance from so a lot of my fellow residents, as do they, I\u2019m positive, from folks like me. And I hate it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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