Last year, I spent the Fourth of July watching fireworks over the Washington Monument from a roof deck overlooking the Potomac River in Washington, DC.
This year I'll be in Beijing, watching distant broadcasts of the United States' Independence Day celebration on CCTV, or perhaps the Asian News Network.
I had hoped to set off sparklers from my balcony, but colleagues told me that do-it-yourself pyrotechnics are now illegal in Beijing, except during the annual Spring Festival.
To be honest, I hadn't spent much time thinking about what the holiday means, what America means, until I left home.
Now, with some distance, these questions seem more interesting.
The Fourth of July commemorates the signing of the "Declaration of Independence" in 1776, when the United States renounced its colonial ties with Great Britain.
Back then America was an underdog, an obscure country in world affairs. Then, an audacious 33-year-old redhead named Thomas Jefferson penned a famous rebuke to King George III. A war ensued, and seven years later, America was free of its former colonial master, and struggling to define the values that would guide the young nation.
In Beijing, people often ask me to explain America. The first thing to know is that not everyone - indeed, almost no one - lives a bonafide Sex and the City lifestyle. The second is that Americans, especially on the Fourth of July, continue to celebrate such national ideals as the "land of opportunity", "the melting pot", and "the American dream".
I've never doubted that my home is a special place. But I have begun to wonder if the "American dream" is really so singular - or if it is, rather, a universal dream. That dream, after all, is quite simple: to own your own home, to get ahead by your own hard work, and to provide the best for your children. I've met a lot of people in China, both Chinese people and visitors from elsewhere, who hold the same aspirations.
My apartment in Beijing overlooks a middle-school basketball court. In the mornings, students slouch to school in tracksuits. During the day, they study hard, play hoops and sometimes gather in the courtyard to raise the flag and sing the national anthem.
I don't recognize the words or the tune. But I remember well my classroom days of reciting America's Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. The United States and China are both very patriotic countries.
They are also both very large nations - with sizable populations, economies and natural resources.
Many think the next century will be defined by the relationship between the United States and China.
Today marks a fragile moment, when the leaders and publics of both countries will determine whether that relationship will be seen as a zero-sum game, or one of common interests. The latter will require honest, unblinking and mutual discussion and criticism from both sides, without fear-mongering or empty promises from either.
Global exchange isn't really so new. I first read Thomas Jefferson's words in a textbook printed on wood-pulp paper, invented and imported centuries ago from China. Those words still sound modern today: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men 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."
Jefferson lived long before the era of international jet-setting but his words have traveled well.
(China Daily 07/04/2008 page18)
