Sunday, 28 November 2021

INDEPENDENCE

Today, the Republic of Panama celebrates the bicentennial anniversary of independence from Spain. A few weeks earlier, on 3 November, Panama celebrated Separation Day, which commemorates independence from Colombia. These separations are noted in the logo that Panama is using in its bicentennial celebration. The Spanish flag colors blend into those of Colombia and finally into Panama’s national flag colors.

Independence is a natural yearning. Everyone, everything wants and needs independence. From the moment we are born, we are on the path to independence. Erik and Joan Erikson collaborated in the human development theory known as psycho-social development. This 20th century theory gained widespread acceptance for its practical and immediate application to human life. In other words, the theory of the proposed eight stages of development seemed to match reality and so the Erikson stage theory became very popular among laity even while it was only one of several theories of human development.

Stage Two, according to the Eriksons involves a period of self-doubt/dependence versus independence. Read what is presented below and see for yourself that you very likely went through this period successfully or unsuccessfully. Parents will note this stage as a difficult stage that requires tons of patience!

• Toilet training plays a major role; learning to control one’s body functions leads to a feeling of control and a sense of independence.
• Other important events include gaining more control over food choices, toy preferences, and clothing selection. 
• Kids in this stage of development often feel the need to do things independently, such as picking out what they will wear each day, putting on their own clothes, and deciding what they will eat. While this can often be frustrating for parents and caregivers, it is an important part of developing a sense of self-control and personal autonomy.
• https://www.verywellmind.com/autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt-2795733

Societies, nations, and cultures also desire independence. In fact, world history seems to be a story of constant struggle for independence. Biblical history makes the claim that Adam and Eve fell to the urge for independence and this narrative reflects both the reason for order and disorder. God created all as dependent on a created and right order and the break for independence resulted in a sort of chaos. Human history is the story of seeking independence for good or for bad.

In 1985 President Jimmy Carter published a book called The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East. It was well-received in its day as an insightful way of understanding the Middle East Conflict and how a solution to it might be found. From a biblical perspective, Carter attempted to show how Patriarch Abraham’s blood flowed through the veins of all parties which were part and parcel of the conflict. Carter’s point was that independence for any party was essential to each party’s survival and that none in the conflict would ever be independent if they weren’t all independent.

Of course, the Middle East is not a particular epicenter of conflict for independence. It’s not just a special commemoration in the United States of America or of Mexico, but a worldwide tapestry of celebrations. As indebted as I am to the compiler of the list below, it remains to be said that it is incomplete, so powerful is the quest for independence. Just this month Barbados became completely independent from the British Monarch and thus was established as a republic with its own head of state.

1	Afghanistan	August 19
2	Albania	November 28
3	Algeria	July 5
4	Angola	November 11
5	Anguilla	May 30
6	Antigua and Barbuda	November 1
7	Argentina	July 9
8	Armenia	May 28
9	Australia	03-Mar
10	Austria	October 26
11	Azerbaijan	May 28
12	Bahamas, The	July 10
13	Bahrain	December 16
14	Bangladesh	March 26
15	Barbados	November 30
16	Belarus	July 3
17	Belgium	July 21
18	Belize	September 21
19	Benin	August 1
20	Bolivia	August 6
21	Bosnia and Herzegovina	March 1
22	Botswana	September 30
23	Brazil	September 7
24	Brunei	January 1
25	Bulgaria	March 3
26	Burkina Faso	August 5
27	Burundi	July 1
28	Cambodia	November 9
29	Cameroon	January 1
30	Canada	July 1
31	Cape Verde	July 5
32	Central African Republic	August 13
33	Chad	August 11
34	Chile	September 18
35	China	01-Oct
36	Colombia	July 20 and August 7
37	Comoros	July 6
38	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	June 30
39	Congo, Republic of the	August 15
40	Costa Rica	September 15
41	Côte d’Ivoire	August 7
42	Croatia	October 8
43	Cuba	January 1
44	Cyprus	October 1
45	Czech Republic	October 28
46	Djibouti	June 27
47	Dominica	November 3
48	Dominican Republic	27-Feb
49	East Timor	May 20
50	Ecuador	August 10
51	El Salvador	September 15
52	Equatorial Guinea	October 12
53	Eritrea	May 24
54	Estonia	February 24
55	Eswatini	September 6
56	Fiji	October 10
57	Finland	December 6
58	France	14-Jul
59	Gabon	August 17
60	Gambia, The	February 18
61	Georgia	May 26 and April 9
62	Germany	03-Oct
63	Ghana	March 6
64	Greece	March 25
65	Grenada	February 7
66	Guatemala	September 15
67	Guinea	October 2
68	Guinea-Bissau	September 24
69	Guyana	May 26
70	Haiti	January 1
71	Honduras	September 15
72	Hong Kong	July 1
73	Hungary	23-Oct
74	Iceland	17-Jun
75	India	August 15
76	Indonesia	August 17
77	Iraq	October 3
78	Ireland	April 24
79	Israel	(On or between April 15 and May 15, depending on the Hebrew calendar).
80	Jamaica	August 6
81	Jordan	May 25
82	Kazakhstan	December 16
83	Kenya	December 12
84	Kiribati	July 12
85	PDRK (North Korea)	August 15
86	Republic of Korea (South Korea)	March 1
87	Kosovo	February 17
88	Kuwait	February 25
89	Kyrgyzstan	August 31
90	Laos	October 22
91	Latvia	November 18
92	Lebanon	November 22
93	Lesotho	October 4
94	Liberia	July 26
95	Libya	December 24
96	Lithuania	February 16
97	Macau	December 20
98	Madagascar	June 26
99	Malawi	July 6
100	Malaysia	August 31
101	Maldives	July 26
102	Mali	September 22
103	Malta	September 21
104	Mauritania	November 28
105	Mauritius	March 12
106	Mexico	September 16
107	Moldova	August 27
108	Mongolia	December 29[4]
109	Montenegro	May 21
110	Morocco	November 18
111	Mozambique	June 25
112	Myanmar	January 4
113	Namibia	March 21
114	Nauru	January 31
115	Netherlands, The	July 26
116	Nicaragua	September 15
117	Niger	August 3
118	Nigeria	October 1
119	North Macedonia	September 8
120	Northern Cyprus	November 15
121	Norway	May 17
122	Oman	November 18
123	Pakistan	August 14
124	Panama	November 3 and 28
125	Papua New Guinea	September 16
126	Paraguay	May 15
127	Peru	July 28
128	Philippines	June 12
129	Poland	November 11
130	Portugal	December 1
131	Qatar	December 18
132	Romania	May 9
133	Russia	June 12
134	Rwanda	July 1
135	Saint Kitts and Nevis	September 19
136	Saint Lucia	February 22
137	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	October 27
138	Samoa	January 1
139	São Tomé and Príncipe	July 12
140	Senegal	April 4
141	Serbia	February 15
142	Seychelles	June 29
143	Sierra Leone	April 27
144	Singapore	August 9
145	Slovakia	July 17
146	Slovenia	December 26 and June 25
147	Solomon Islands	July 7
148	Somalia	July 1
149	South Africa	December 11
150	South Sudan	July 9
151	Sri Lanka	February 4
152	Sudan	January 1
153	Suriname	November 25
154	Sweden	June 6
155	Switzerland	August 1
156	Syria	April 17
157	Taiwan	October 10
158	Tajikistan	September 9
159	Tanzania	December 9
160	Togo	April 27
161	Tibet	February 13
162	Tonga	June 4
163	Trinidad and Tobago	August 31
164	Tunisia	March 20
165	Turkmenistan	October 27
166	Tuvalu	October 1
167	Uganda	October 9
168	Ukraine	August 24
169	United Arab Emirates	December 2
170	United States	July 4
171	Uruguay	August 25
172	Uzbekistan	September 1
173	Vanuatu	July 30
174	Venezuela	July 5
175	Vietnam	September 2
176	Yemen	November 30
177	Zambia	October 24
178	Zimbabwe	April 18

I’ll close this blog with a warning about independence. It really doesn’t work without interdependence. As ironic as this sounds, we must remember the blood of Abraham, the father of many nations. Reminiscent of a common human blood, we also hear from the poet John Donne:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.