I’ve been in the U.S. long enough to take part in my adopted country’s holidays and even accepting some of them as my own (except Halloween, which will have to wait until I have kids, and even then I’m not sure).
Half-time shows and barbecues, turkeys and fireworks, buddy poppies and flags, all serve to confirm and reinforce the sense of national (comm)unity. Every nation has its rituals and the history that comes with them.
The republic’s founders declared independence from the empire to pursue their life, liberty, and happiness in the way they saw fit. As I observe and participate in the transition from the kind of marketing I learned in business school to the kind that better fits the post-modern, digital, sustainability age, I see today as a perfect day to declare independence!
Declare independence from the yoke of push marketing! Declare independence to stop interrupting what interests people, with ads, banners, and commercials, and to become what interests people, offering them value and context and meaning!
Declare independence from the tyranny of profit for profit’s sake! Declare independence to pursue the balance of financial prosperity, social empowerment, and environmental restoration!
Declare independence from traditional, broadcasting media! Declare independence to listen, participate, and engage in the community-based social web where every voice counts!
Cheers and happy birthday, U.S.A.!
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Image credit: whizchickenonabun
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