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This 4th of July, I’m wondering just how much independence the people of the United States really have to celebrate. That’s because, according to one source, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. This news doesn’t exactly make me want to join a patriotic crowd chant of “We’re number one! We’re number one!”. Even the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics provides supporting evidence that as of 2013, almost two and a half million people were incarcerated. That’s 1 out of every 110 adults, a staggering number.
I’ve also been wondering whether there is any real difference, besides the sheer number of people who pledge allegiance to them, between flags and gang colors. Corruption has reached record levels, and the majority of it is tied to the profits associated with waging permanent war. Sadly, my level of cynicism has grown in direct proportion to the current level of government corruption. It is that cynicism that is causing me to view all of the 4th of July barbeques in the backyards of bank-owned homes not as a celebration of independence, but as a form of consolation for our collective lack of real freedom.