On May 1, 2014, I was in Paris, France. They do not celebrate "Loyalty Day" in France. They do, however, celebrate the traditional May Day holiday, most often associated with International Workers Day. Boy do they celebrate it! They celebrate it in spades!
The celebration of May Day in France turned out to be an inconvenience, in the sense that all the various museums and other places my wife and I had hoped to see were closed - all in honor of the workers' holiday. We liked Paris, nonetheless! And I like International Workers Day, too!
Somehow, I was prompted to go online to research May Day; I can't now remember why. I found that the United States has "repurposed" May Day. In the U.S., it's "Loyalty Day" now. Here is a link to last year's "Loyalty Day" proclamation by President Obama. See the image above to get the gist of what we are supposed to be thinking and doing on "Loyalty Day."
I am feeling more and more worried, to tell the truth, that our government seems less and less loyal to the principles that are supposed to constrain its operations - and to protect our freedoms. Read this Chris Hedges' article to see what I am worried about. Chris Hedges tends to the extreme in his arguments and advocacy. However, having just taught a course at UCSC that focused on "Privacy, Technology and Freedom," I think that Hedges' concerns are valid.
A good many of the students in the class I taught are worried, too!
A good many of the students in the class I taught are worried, too!
Image Credit:
http://www.freegreatimages.com/loyalty-day/
When I discovered that May 1st, May Day, has been rebranded by the United States government as "Loyalty Day," I realized how much our government, a corporate oligarchy, has slipped into the pit of fascism.
ReplyDeleteThis "Loyalty Day," is the most egregious Orwellian development of US government to date. This chills me to the heart.
Democratic governments do not demand loyalty, they earn it.