Some of the nation’s largest corporations are joining forces with the White House to turn the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this July 4 into a celebration of militarism and the mixing of church and state.
The group behind this effort is America250. Its nearly 60 corporate sponsors include Amazon, American Airlines, Boeing, BP, Chick-fil-A, Chrysler, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Cummins, CVS, FedEx, Goldman Sachs, Hilton, John Deere, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorganChase, Lockheed Martin, Oracle, Palantir, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Target and Walmart. Its leadership includes Kellyanne Conway, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager and spokesperson, as well as an array of Trump administration Cabinet members.
America250’s mission, set forth on its website, says nothing about the growing gap between America’s billionaires and ordinary Americans, or about how the biggest corporations are making huge profits while working households struggle to make ends meet.
America250 is working closely with Freedom 250, an operation led by the White House that describes U.S. history as the history of its armed forces. The official White House website for Freedom 250 also includes a section called “America Prays” that highlights the theme that Christian Protestant faith has always been central to the country’s history. It urges U.S. citizens to “pray for our country and our people and rededicate ourselves as One Nation Under God.”
But this is not the only avenue we have as citizens to recognize July 4. We can, as an alternative, embrace the common future all of us share with other people and other living beings by celebrating July 4 as “Interdependence Day.”