I also never heard of the term "Case Fatality Rate" until last year.
I never heard about the 1970s Detroit protopunk band "Death" until around 2013.
And I hadn't heard of the Kaiser Chiefs until I heard them on XM Underground Garage until after their fourth album was released.
That doesn't mean my arbitrary starting point of knowledge should be THE universal governor of everyone else's knowledge.
In terms of bank holidays, those that are distinctly American are MLK Day, President's Day, Independence Day, Columbus Day, and Thanksgiving Day. In each of these days I see shining examples of American Exceptionalism.
If I'm honest, I can see American Exceptionalism in Juneteenth. How, might you ask, is Exceptionalism of an American variety found in a "day that's a sop to BLM"? First, I don't see it that way: I know black folks who've celebrated Juneteenth for a long time (I just learned about it in 2020). It is BLM that is new to the game. Second, (perhaps fittingly) I must quote Condoleezza Rice who absolutely nailed this last summer:
Well, I’ve always thought that America’s greatest strength is that we are a country where you can come from humble circumstances and do great things, and where, despite our painful history, we’ve worked harder and harder every day, brick by brick, to build a more perfect union for all of us. And I would say to those, particularly in places like China and Russia and Iran, who may want to use this for propaganda, let’s not be absurd.
This is not Tiananmen Square where you’ve mowed down people who disagreed with the government. This is not the invasion of Crimea where you took land from your neighbor. This is not the Green Revolution in Iran where you killed people wantonly because they wouldn’t agree with the theocratic government.
Rice continued, “And I would even say to our friends abroad, in places like Europe, where I’m seeing demonstrations in support of what is happening here, thank you for your support, but please look in the mirror. Please ask yourself, in countries in Europe and countries all across the world, what are you doing about racial and ethnic inequality in your own circumstances? America has gotten better because we have been willing to confront our problems. And we’re going to confront our problems again. We’re confronting them now.
“But I really don’t need to be lectured by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about peaceful protest when they have themselves used their own force just because people wanted to criticize the government. That is not what is happening here,” she added.
In that same spirit I consider adding a federal holiday to celebrate the emancipation of slaves (I mean, we DID have a little war that sorta touched upon this scourge....it's not a holiday celebrating Elvis and James Brown though that'd be bitchin') to be prima facie evidence of what makes America Exceptional AND better than every other nation on the planet.
Yes. Agreed. A worthy holiday. But not in a wokified sense. In a patriotic sense. Hopefully one day future generations will be unable to unpack the journey of abolitionism...
These are some good starting points for me:
1) Ben Franklin’s conversion and founding of Pennsylvania Abolition Society
http://www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/slavery-abolition-society/
2) Angelina Grimke Appeal to the Christian Women of the South
http://americainclass.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Grimke_Appeal-to-the-Christian-Women-of-the-South-excerpts.pdf
3) Frederick Douglas’ “What to the Slave is the 4th of July” (totally taken out of context these days. When read in full, it is one do the most patriotic and faith-centered texts produced in the 19th Century!)
https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/nations-story-what-slave-fourth-july