JULY 4 – aka the Fourth, has come and gone, duly celebrated at home and abroad by Americans who feast and make merry when the anniversary of their nation’s Independence rolls around. This year marked the 235th year of celebration and the local family of the Stars and Stripes paid homage in their own way, the Embassy doing so with ceremony and hospitality under the theme: “A call to service”.

Back home, there would have been fireworks, simulating “bombs bursting in air” and “rockets’ red glare”, to quote their National Anthem but that was not on the local agenda. It’s been a little while now since an official celebration of the Fourth here climaxed with fireworks.

There was one memorable occasion when the display was staged at Kingston’s waterfront. While guests applauded, some complaints came that rockets whizzing and assorted other things banging had disturbed the tranquility of adjacent communities, never mind that the usual noises were gunshots reverberating. On another July 4 night, with the official residence of the ambassador located in one of the classic Upper St Andrew “tappanares” settlements, another batch of neighbours (obviously the uninvited) also engaged in a spot of grumbling about the fireworks sounding like gunshots. Since then, I can’t recall seeing or hearing “rockets’ red glare” lighting up the sky for a celebration of the Fourth, but that hasn’t stopped the party.

This year, even with that certain 800-pound gorilla still lurking somewhere between the Stars ‘n’ Stripes and the Black, Green and Gold, the rituals of celebration were duly observed. The host of the day was Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater whose relaxed style must owe much to when she served here previously as labour attaché, before leaving to return to occupy the Ambassador’s chair. Her former job had put her in touch with people in trade unions and allied interests and with a memory for faces and names, she makes conversation easily.

Politicians and other under-pressure types could relax for a change in civilised discourse with community representatives, diplomats and others while the culinary skills of some of our top-class chefs added a “seasoning hand” to create fusion in the menu and to prove that “when wi good, wi good”. The ambassador spoke of good-neighbour initiatives between her country and ours and the minister of foreign affairs responded suitably and briefly – one of the few occasions when a politician understood the value of brevity.

So, 235 years of Independence were celebrated this week by the Americans, even in the midst of serious times for their nation. The forthcoming presidential elections seem to be bringing out the absolute worst in some of their representatives, but America still lives, never mind the bumps in the road. It is a pity, however, that economic challenges and partisan minstrelsy seems to be threatening to erode the stature of a nation which has the title of the world’s most powerful. Could they lose the honour because of budget challenges and a growing viciousness which seems aimed at the destruction of one man – a president who dared to say “We can” only to be frustrated by “No, we won’t”?

Imagine the response of their founding fathers if Twitter, Facebook and all that were in vogue during their time. Would the early foundations of democracy have survived the partisan “carry go bring come”, which seems to be the template of political dialogue today? While you could say it is really not the business of outsiders, we still have to wonder what motivated the malicious statement of recent days spreading false rumours that the president had been shot… A total lie, but there were those apparently who wanted to believe it, despite the trauma such an event in the past had brought to their country and the world. Must politics always be nasty?

Of course, we Jamdowners, have our moments of mental unbalance too, but even we are watching warily, as this ugly saga continues, you know what they say: “When Washington sneezes, Kingston gets pneumonia”. We’re standing by with the home-grown remedies just in case.

July Fourth is not for America only. The date holds significance for us, too, via the birth of Norman Washington Manley, which occurred July 4, 1893, at Roxborough, a small, rural corner of Jamaica, four miles from Porus in Manchester. Manley grew to become one of the founding fathers of our nation and we conferred on him the honour of National Hero, joining the five other men and the one woman who also shaped our nation. Norman Manley gained fame in his struggle for Jamaican nationhood, but he, like so many, had connections to the Big Neighbour to the North. The Rex Nettleford-edited book of speeches and writings of NW Manley, tells of how Mr Manley’s mother had journeyed to Washington DC after her husband died, to find a job in the US postal service, but she soon returned to Manchester as the pay wasn’t enough to support herself and her four children.

Today, other women make that trek to the United States to find a means of feeding children left back here. One wonders how much did Norman Manley learn from his mother’s American adventure. Did it influence any of his political ideals for building family and nation? Today, the American ties continue through the diaspora movement whatever we might think of each other sometimes; we’re all stitched together by a very similar thread – of our humanity, wherever it came from.

WHEN LOVE RULE: Floyd Morris, whose indomitable spirit is a beacon of hope for people both with and without disability, took on to himself a beautiful wife, last Sunday afternoon. To see him walking boldly from the University Chapel with his bride (Shelley-Ann Gayle) was to see the effect of when love rules. I once asked him what makes him move with such assurance; despite not being able to see, how does he know what is there? In true Floyd-style, he didn’t miss a beat in responding: “I know, because I believe.” Nuff and plenty blessing for this beautiful couple. Yeah, man, “when love rule”, everyting cool.

gloudonb@yahoo.com