This is a new lens for me on the story of the play. I was brought to this insight as I wondered the relationship of this story I wrote (and experienced) and the 4th of July.
July 4th in America is not marked as a separation from something good. Rather, it is celebrated as the day the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain and thus set in motion the creation of the United States of America. For most of America today, it is about a new beginning, shedding the shackles of oppression in order to be free. July 4th in many ways has become a moment to recognize the blessings of liberty and the values of freedom from tyranny.
Yet it is also about separation. Separations have two aspects. One is what was -- that which is lost or left behind. The other is what will be – that which is created and will become. We were a British Colony before with ties of all sorts to a motherland, including personal ties of colonists to family and friends back ‘home.’ After we were an independent nation, self-ruled and governed. There were parts of the relationship with Britain that were supportive and reassuring to many and there must have been great uncertainty about how things would work – or not -- after the separation.
Losing someone you love is also a separation. The anxiety and anticipation of the process leading to the loss also involves preparing for an uncertain future without the other.
As I was reflecting on these similarities I decided to look again at what we now call the Declaration of Independence I understand there is a key difference here. The ‘after’ of our declaration from Britain is perceived as good and better. The declaration is made to justify a volitional act of separation or even ‘divorce’ from a parent or partner.
In this little exercise the separation – the Dance -- is not volitional. It is inevitable and ultimately necessary. For many of the everyday colonists though I wonder if the declaration wasn’t something that felt imposed and difficult. I wonder despite the differences if it isn’t useful to compare and contrast these two events as a way of shedding new light on each:
Here is the original:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Here is my adaptation:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for two people to dissolve the mortal bonds which have connected them with another, and for one of them to assume through the powers of the divine, the separate and equal station in the eternal to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God call them, a decent respect requires that they should declare the love and causes that while continue to bind them together forever.
Ultimately, all separations involve losses. They all require courage and imagination to move forward with the new – post separation world. In America we celebrate the 4th of July. We acknowledge the battle and tension and difficulty of the separation and those who made it happen, and we celebrate the potential of a great country that even now is evolving and becoming.
In Judaism we mark anniversaries of separations as well. We call it Yahrzeit. A Yiddish term meaning “one year’s time” or the anniversary of a separation. The purpose is to remember and honor that which was and the blessings of that relationship and that person. We recite prayers in their honor and most importantly we acknowledge the power and mercy of God in the world.
We do not in American mourn the loss of the relationship we had with Britain. Rather we look at the reasons for the separation. The Declaration actually is a bill of particulars and outlines just cause for a revolution. One that results in a separation – the loss of what was and the creation of what will be.
So too is the result of different kinds of separation. A dance, a dance that one day each and every one of us will dance. Something that was and the creation of what will be.