We Americans are proud of our independence, as well we should be. July 4th is quite a day in most communities of our country.
Sometimes, though, I think we ought to recognize and celebrate our interdependence. We wave our flags and celebrate independence, but, in reality, we are truly an interdependent nation, an interdependent people. In other words, we depend on each other.
Think about just one routine day. Most of us depend upon the person who delivers the paper, the person who delivers the mail. Perhaps we depend on those who write the news articles in the newspaper. We depend upon those who deliver the news on radio and TV. We depend on other drivers to travel with care.
Generally, we depend on teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers. We depend on farmers, wholesalers, retailers. We depend on friends and family to be there for us, in good times and in bad. We rely on doctors, nurses, hospital personnel; cooks and chefs in restaurants; employers and fellow employees. We depend on architects to design and engineers to build safe buildings, bridges and roads. We rely on inspectors to look out for consumers. We depend on bus drivers, pilots, train conductors. We trust and depend on counselors and religious leaders.
We depend on others and others depend on us. It’s fine to celebrate our independence, but perhaps we ought to take time to reflect on just how interdependent we are. We can’t do without each other. As John Donne wrote, “No man is an island.”
How fortunate we are to have each other! How fortunate we are to have not only our independence but also our interdependence.
Sometimes, though, I think we ought to recognize and celebrate our interdependence. We wave our flags and celebrate independence, but, in reality, we are truly an interdependent nation, an interdependent people. In other words, we depend on each other.
Think about just one routine day. Most of us depend upon the person who delivers the paper, the person who delivers the mail. Perhaps we depend on those who write the news articles in the newspaper. We depend upon those who deliver the news on radio and TV. We depend on other drivers to travel with care.
Generally, we depend on teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers. We depend on farmers, wholesalers, retailers. We depend on friends and family to be there for us, in good times and in bad. We rely on doctors, nurses, hospital personnel; cooks and chefs in restaurants; employers and fellow employees. We depend on architects to design and engineers to build safe buildings, bridges and roads. We rely on inspectors to look out for consumers. We depend on bus drivers, pilots, train conductors. We trust and depend on counselors and religious leaders.
We depend on others and others depend on us. It’s fine to celebrate our independence, but perhaps we ought to take time to reflect on just how interdependent we are. We can’t do without each other. As John Donne wrote, “No man is an island.”
How fortunate we are to have each other! How fortunate we are to have not only our independence but also our interdependence.
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