I suppose I should write a rousing and uplifting 4th of July post. Relate how special I feel on this day, this day of Independence. Airman Mom, who has offspring serving our country reminds me to think of our soldiers. After all, it may have been politicians who came up with the idea of Independence, it was grunt soldiers who won it for us. Marching in the cold, bivouacked in canvas tents with mud floors if they were lucky. Maybe one meal a day or two if they could steal some chickens or slaughter some poor bastard's cow. So Yeah, I always consider our soldiers on this day. My father was one for 31 years. My uncles were soldiers. Have a brother who served. Everywhere I look in my family there are relatives who served. And no matter what we may think one way or the other about our troops involvement overseas, we should all take a moment today to consider our Armed Forces and say thank you.
But Independence Day is not just about soldiers, war, and defending borders. It is about all of us. The whiners, the criers, the doers, and the lazy slobs sitting on stoops sucking beer out of bottles in paper bags. July 4th is a day when every American is a patriot whether they want to be or not.
So celebrate this day anyway you want. Park your butt in the back yard next to that 40 quart cooler chock full of ice cold Papst Blue Ribbon beer. Burn some meat on the grill, ogle girls in bikinis, swim out to the middle of the lake. This day is about whatever you want it to be. Independence is not something we are given. It is something we take, make, create with grand notions and dedicated follow through. Soldiers alone cannot keep us independent. Only we, the collective we, can do that.
In keeping with tradition going back some years, I will, in a few hours, go on a bike ride. Today we go to Blue Job, a small state park with a great 300 degree view of my neck of the woods. If I am lucky, the 3 1/2 mile climb from where we park will reward me with an unlimited line of sight to the Atlantic Ocean 30 miles away. To the north, Mt Washington might just be visible. What better way to celebrate this day than to gaze out on some of the beauty we take for granted most days of the year.
What a grand land we have responsibility for. I only hope we can live up to that responsibility. Happy 4th....................................
4 comments:
I'm currently doing laundry. Is that patriotic?
Yup, let's get real Yankee Doodled to celebrate our Fourth's Declaration. And well we should for "We hold these truths ... "
But I'll pass on all the militarism rah-rah.
Defending your borders? You mean by invading other people's? American patriotic militarism reminds me much of European militarism in the 18th and 19th century, during their empire building days.
America's recent fascination with "militarism" does bother me. But instead of focusing on it alone, I prefer to look at what we have accomplished in spite of it. I believe we can still be a great country. We just need to find the right vehicle to do it.
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