Listening to NPR this morning, I learned something new – or if I ever knew it, I forgot it. It’s so obvious, it’s easy to overlook.

The month of July is named after Julius Caesar (like August, also named after a Roman emperor). It seems that for awhile, the Roman emperors were on a month-naming kick, changing ordinary names of months like Quintilis and Sextilis (fancy names for fifth and sixth) to their own names. The practice died out quickly when they realized that they would soon run out of months if they kept it up (at least according to the report I heard, which is good enough for me).

So that got me thinking – why should we abide by months named after long-dead white Romans who mercilessly conquered the world and subjugated most of its population (when they weren’t enslaving or murdering people) to their rule? Why not reclaim our right to name months after our own heroes?

I suggest we begin with a trial renaming. How about we start by calling this month Obama instead of July (especially as the president has begun to exhibit some imperial tendencies of his own)? Let’s take it for a spin and see how it works. This coming Thursday, let’s all celebrate America’s Independence Day on the Fourth of Obama. See, doesn’t that have a lovely ring to it?

Happy Obama Fourth.