On behalf of EPL Talk, I’d like to wish our readers in America a happy independence day on this fourth of July. I hope you and your family have a safe and wonderful holiday.It’s ironic when you think about it because sometimes we forget that when the United States celebrates its independence, it’s celebrating its independence from Britain. Nowadays American culture is such a part of UK life while British sport and music are such a part of America. EPL Talk is a perfect example of this.Here’s a true story. When I moved from Wales to the U.S. in 1984, my schoolmates in high school would run up to me and playfully proclaim “Ha ha, we beat you in the war” as well as “We beat you at the tea party!”Honestly, I had no idea what they were talking about.Growing up in the UK and going to school there until the age of 14, the subject of the American war of independence was never mentioned. It wasn’t in the history books. It wasn’t mentioned in school or in typical conversations. In fact, I ended up emigrating for the States one year before my last year in secondary school but I did study for my O level in World History one year before leaving and passed with flying colors. Even in a very comprehensive and grueling exam such as World History, the subject of the American independence from Great Britain was never mentioned. So much of the curriculum was on World War I and II and the Battle Of Hastings.Presumably most Americans learn about the history and stories of the war for independence during elementary school or middle school. So by the time I emigrated to the States and immediately entered school in ninth grade, the topic of America’s Declaration of Independence was already common knowledge for American kids. I, on the other hand, was clueless and was trying to figure out why the American kids kept on talking about tea parties and how “we beat you, ha ha.” My fellow classmates must have wondered why I looked bewildered when they tried to provoke a reaction out of me.It wasn’t until many years later that I finally learned about the Boston Tea Party and the independence from the British thanks to the helpful book, Don’t Know Much About History
by Kenneth C. Davis.As is traditional, I’ll be spending the afternoon celebrating the 4th of July with my extended family at a barbecue while watching the local fireworks display. Thanks for your loyalty and have a wonderful day.