The Fourth of July is commonly known as Independence Day, but a better term for it, Patri Friedman says, is Secession Day:
Secession almost always involves multiple groups of people, some small and local, others large and distant, who want to rule the same territory. And history tells us that large, distant rulers are often reluctant to grant independence. The word “independence” takes all the historical messiness involved in winning freedom from a hostile enemy and sweeps it under the rug, while the term “secession” puts this inherent tension right out into the open.So Saturday, July 4th is Secession Day.