Independence Day…  The great pleasure of independence is not in subjugating, confining, restraining or in any way inhibiting the personal growth and development of others but in celebrating the right to independence of all other people.  This week in which America’s Fourth-of-July falls has presented several especially good reminders that my freedom is reinforced by the independence of my friends here and in other places.  In yesterday’s mail I received an amazing gift from my friend Danielle who lives with her husband Michiel in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  I liked the mystery of the envelope and was determined to open it without spoiling its beauty.  The street address in the top left corner was a reminder that countries side-by-side can have a free exchange of love and respect and commitment to mutual welfare. We enjoy warm, neighborly relationships with Canada harboring no underlying suspicions that Canadians would like to exchange citizenship in their country for U.S. citizenship. Our tourist agencies encourage Canadians to come the the U.S. for holidays.  U.S. citizens are not suspicious when Canadians cross the border that they are coming to take something from us, to exploit us, to leave us poorer and less secure.

Some of my neighbors where I live fifteen miles from the busiest border crossing in the world look with suspicion on the entry of any Central Americans into the U.S. There is an often expressed fear that when the number of Latinos in California’s population reaches more than 50% of the total (sometime within the next decade), “the rest of us” will be in trouble from higher crime rates, more diseases, and a loss of identity. 

Our friends from Smolensk have returned to Russia, but our contact with them is as close as Skype. Since he got home, Anton is drying birch branches for Banya brooms from a Russian forest.  Danielle's envelope contained birch bark from a Canadian forest. Today we celebrated the Fourth of July with a good old fashioned scaled-down Singapore American School Alumni Association Barbecue at the home of Leslie Abrams who was in my senior English class at the school in the early 1970s. She is now one of the librarians at UCSD.  Janice Culpepper, who lives in Seattle and works as coordinator of the Science division of The Gates Foundation, was with Leslie in my English class.  Son David and Goddaughter Elaine were also students at Singapore American School.  We are all keenly aware that as citizens of the world, our responsibilities extend beyond the borders of the United States of America.