独立記念日おめでとう

ハッピーバースデーアメリカ！
本日7月4日は言わずと知れた米国独立記念日で休日です。

先ほどは日の入りを迎え現在は夜10時前。
家の周囲から盛んに花火を打ち上げるけたたましい音が聞こえてきます。

飲食店でのパーティーや大掛かりな集まりはどこもできないのですが、それぞれの家庭で花火を打ち上げてるんでしょうね。米国人にとってこのお祝いだけは自粛することは出来ないようで、本当に絶え間なく耳をつんざくような爆音が聞こえています。

自由と平等そして人権の尊重は、独立宣言が発せられた数百年前からの米国の最も尊重する価値観とされてきました。

もっともこの天来とされる普遍的な価値観は、当時の白人だけの間に認められたものでありNative Americanや黒人には適用されなかった事は承知の事実です。

その後歴史の進展に伴い人々の良識にも改変が加えられて今や人種民族にかかわりなくすべての人と共有できる価値観なはずです。
「はずです」と書いたのは、人々の深い意識の部分でそうでは無いところが露出して社会問題となっている昨今の世相を感じてのことです。

長く培われてきた伝統を理想的な価値観をして一挙に覆すことはできません。それでも良識ある人々は戦っています。

たった今耳に届く花火の爆音は、かつて人々が英国から勝ち取った普遍的価値観をこの国の全ての人々に広げていこうとする産みの苦しみのように聞こえて来ます。

Happy Birthday America!

Today, July 4th is a holiday on the famous American Independence Day, as it is known.

The sun has just set and it's now just before 10pm.
We can hear the thunderous sound of fireworks going off around our house.

None of us are able to have parties at restaurants or large gatherings, but each family has its own fireworks display. They must be launching it. It seems that for Americans, this celebration is the thing they can't refrain from doing, and there is really a constant earworm, deafening explosion.

Liberty, equality and respect for human rights are among the most cherished American values since the Declaration of Independence was issued hundreds of years ago. It was considered to be a core value as humans.

These universal values, which are considered to be innate, were accepted and admitted only by white people of the time. It is a fact that it did not apply to Native Americans or blacks.

Later, as history progressed, people's common sense was altered, and nowadays, all people, regardless of race or ethnicity, should have the right to share these values equally.

I wrote "should" because it exposes people's deepest consciousness where they aren't, and reflects the current state of affairs in the world.

Long-established traditions cannot be overturned by idealistic values in one fell swoop. Nevertheless, sensible people are fighting.

The explosion of fireworks that is just now reaching my ears is a reminder that the universal values that people once won from Britain, are for all who is living in this country. It sounds like the birth pangs of trying to spread to all.

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つれづれなるままに

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