Celebrating July 4th under the flag of international socialism

Of course workers are going to celebrate a day off of work!

July 4th always comes with some hopelessly mixed messaging from the American left. On one hand, we are reminded that The United States was built on the genocide of Native Americans, the slavery of black Americans, and a good century of global imperial hegemony that has only recently started decline. Today we have the highest incarceration rate in the world; soaring economic inequality and the political inequality that comes with it; crumbling infrastructure, terrible healthcare, and on and on. Why would a decent person celebrate such things?

So every Independence Day comes with loud protest from much of the left — but we also hear the opposite. Particularly since the early years of the Bush Administration, when reactionaries accused liberals and leftists alike of being treasonous enemies of America, a distinct current of leftism has occupied itself with taking patriotism back…