Hentrietta Hay's Column

When I was a little girl my grandfather always came to visit on the 4th of July. He and I loved fireworks, so he bought enough Roman candles and skyrockets for the two of us to endanger all the houses in that part of Englewood. This year I bought fireworks to share with my 11-year-old friend and we had the fun of endangering his parents' house.

But the significance the fireworks this year are not the same as it was in my youth.

Then, although I was not acutely aware of it, the war to end wars had been fought and won by our fathers and uncles. It was the last of the "pure" wars. Justice had prevailed and we had made the world safe for democracy. There would be no more war in the world. Patriotism was an objective word - clear in its meaning and not questioned. It meant love of country and the willingness to "die to make men free".

But in spite of that, between my childhood and Christopher's, there has been a major world war in which more than 400,000 Americans of my generation died. And there was a "police action" in Korea that killed over 50,000 and a war in Vietnam, which killed 60,000 of our sons and daughters.

And there was Hiroshima. The day the bomb fell, we entered a new world.

The concept of nationalism and patriotism changed, whether we choose to admit it or not. The life of the planet is now at risk. Christopher's fireworks and mine do not mean the same thing.

Old style, traditional patriotism has lost its meaning. I was made especially aware of that when I saw, on the day after Flag Day, many of the little flags on 7th street lying on the ground. And, as usual, at the 4th of July parade this year most of the watchers sat comfortably in their chairs as the flag went by. The flag has become a symbol which far too many of us take for granted. Patriotism has become our security blanket in a world too frightening to face. The symbols, the flag, the music, the speeches, which are all so moving, let us believe that our world is still the same, that we are still invincible, that we are always right.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men (and Women) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." These beautiful, truly patriotic words are as good a guideline for us today as the day they were written. But after 200 years we're still struggling to make them work.

"My country right or wrong" is no longer a truism. The words of Samuel Johnson, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel", are not true either.

Patriotism is not just waving a flag. It is sharing in the political process, sharing in the social process, truly believing and insisting that we can be better, so Christopher's fireworks will continue to light the sky on the 4th of July.