Today at the editor’s glance: The only reason we celebrate Independence Day on July 4 is because that was the day the Declaration was sent to the printer. But it was not the day the Declaration was signed. There was no single day when it was. The document was signed over many weeks, some adding their signature as late as August, September, November, and that iconic painting of John Hancock being the first to sign, surrounded by his fellow revolutionaries, never happened. He signed, but it was, unlike his signature, a more modest affair. As Joseph Ellis, a historian of the founding era, argued in a 2017 article, July 2 makes more sense because, as John Adams wrote to Abigail Adams on July 3, the Continental Congress had voted the day before for independence. “Henceforth, Adams predicted,” and Ellis wrote, “July 2 would be celebrated by every generation with parades, speeches, songs and what he called ‘illuminations.’ He got everything right, even the fireworks. But he got the date wrong.” Then again, every holiday is arbitrarily calendared: the Catholic church stole Christmas from Roman pagans and moved it around a few weeks, Thanksgiving, like a few other national holidays or commemorations, is an invention of government (and more precisely an FDR ploy to get people shopping in the Depression Christmas season) that even anti-government and anti-FDR fanatics like Reaganites and Trumpists embrace. Juneteenth, on the other hand, is a bit more grounded in historicism and calendar accuracy. All this to say that celebrating the Fourth today, a day ahead, as Freedom Fest will all day, for free, at the county airport and as Palm Coast will at Central Park in Town Center starting at 5 and culminating at 9 p.m. with fireworks, is not exactly celebrating on the wrong day, but on the nearly more accurate day. Let’s hope Palm Coast’s mayoral candidates don’t spoil the occasion with too much campaigning at the two events. The Tour de France‘s 8th stage today is a 150-km route, minimalist compared to Friday’s, from Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand on the haunches of the Swiss Alps (one of the pleasures of the Tour is the discovery of French towns no one but those who live in them and Michelet ever knew existed.) This is another climber’s dream, with inclines of 8 and 9 percent to conquer. Euro 2020: The last two quarterfinal matches: First up is the battle of the Pilsners, Czech Republic (Pilsner Urquel) v. Denmark (Carlsberg), then it’s Ukraine and England.
Vaccinations: The Flagler County Health Department (DOH-Flagler) is offering three COVID-19 vaccination clinics next week, as well as a $10 food coupon to thank clients for getting vaccinated. Clinics this week:
- Saturday, July 3 – J&J and Pfizer, 10AM to 6PM — Freedom Fest, Flagler Executive Airport. Look for the Health Department tent near the entrance
Appointments for the Pfizer-only clinic at the health department are preferred, but walk-ins will be accepted. Please call 386-437-7350 ext. 0 for scheduling or questions. June 25, 2021. Eighteen pharmacies in Flagler County offer COVID-19 vaccinations, and 12 of these offer Pfizer, which is approved for individuals ages 12 and over. The health department will offer COVID-19 testing on Friday, July 2 between 2:30 and 3:30PM at its main office, 301 Dr. Carter Blvd.in Bunnell. For more information about COVID-19 vaccination and testing efforts, please visit https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/.
The Live Calendar is a compendium of local and regional political, civic and cultural events. You can input your own calendar events directly onto the site as you wish them to appear (pending approval of course). To include your event in the Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
Nar-Anon Family Group
Flagler County Beekeepers Association Meeting
Rotary’s Fantasy Lights Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Bunnell City Commission Meeting
NAACP Flagler Branch General Membership Meeting
Rotary’s Fantasy Lights Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Separation Chat: Open Discussion
The Circle of Light A Course in Miracles Study Group
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 9-18, at the Flagler County Public Library
Rotary’s Fantasy Lights Festival in Palm Coast’s Town Center
For the full calendar, go here.
“The tendency of Americans to see their history in terms of images derived from film (as Gore Vidal has pointed out in Screening History, and as Newt Gingrich has emphasized in his course on ‘Renewing American Civilization’) creates a virtually impenetrable barrier to seeing the events on which they are based in purely historical terms. They are seen as ‘mythistory,’ to use the phrase of the historian William McNeil. The reason is only partly due to the conflicting testimony of participants (including a ‘multitude of charlatans’ claiming to be the last survivor of the Custer debacle). Custer’s last stand tends to be seen mythistorically, as a battle between Indian and White, Civilization and Savagery, Innocence and Guilt.”
–From “Forked Tongues,” a Wilcombe E. Washburn review of two books on Custer, Times Literary Supplement, June 9, 1995.
