Independence Day*

Ahhh, the Fourth of July. The day means many different things to many different Americans. Since I have not been to Philadelphia, I am grateful to Walter Knott for building an exact replica of Independence Hall just across the road from his wonderful Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Far. So accurate was his version the National Park Service requested use of his blueprints when undertaking a full-scale overhaul of the original. Inside this replica building you’ll also find a replica of the Liberty Bell, an 18^th century carriage and various other items of antiquity. Also, there is a room identical to the one in which our Founding Fathers gathered and wrote the Declaration of Independence.

The Fourth of July used to mean parades and picnics; baseball and yes, apple pie. Now I scoff at the fact they call it Independence Day. Independence for who? Surely not independence from a minority rule. No nation that denies bodily rights to half its population is can tell those same citizens they are independent.

The cherry-picking of the Constitution continues, as the 2^nd Amendment is staunchly defended by some of the same people who ignore the 1^st. Two thirds of the Justices on the Supreme Court are Catholic, and one of them is already chirping about disallowing married couples from using any form of birth control. This means we have been suckered into being a Catholic nation. With all due respect to my Catholic friends, those justices can go to hell as far as I’m concerned. As long as they’re on the court, no American will live in complete freedom of or from religion. And there’s a growing number of Americans who echo my sentiments when I say “Organized religion really f***ed up my spiritual life…”

Even before last month’s horrific decision I had grown weary of celebrating this holiday. As with most holidays we have trivialized it to the point of no return. There is an inherent shallowness to the way we as a society celebrate these days. We don’t celebrate the occasion or its meaning, we celebrate the celebration. This is why for many, the only difference between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July is the fireworks. Oh, that and the fact most kids are out of school the day after the Fourth.  Aside from that, what is a holiday in this nation but an annual exercise in handing over our paychecks to the corporate machine? How man radio commercials will we endure which state “There’s nothing more patriotic than Old Glory, firing up the grill and buying a brand-new car or truck from…?”

Growing up I was taught Patriotism meant loving something. These days it appears the main requirement is hating something…

Other requirements include eating off red, white and blue paper plates during appropriate holidays, competing to see how many flag code violations one can make, and wearing tactical gear. (Wearing tactical gear doesn’t count if you don’t have at least one Velcro patch on your .511 or Condor hat…)

Theodore Roosevelt once said “To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public…” Contrary to the beliefs in some circles, these words rang true from 2016 to 2020 as well…

Apparently, not liking it when children are massacred in the classroom also makes one unpatriotic…

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” I guess the fine officers in Uvalde aren’t good guys. They had guns but the only balls found in Uvalde that day were attached to a Border Patrol agent who showed up a little later…

Speaking of schoolroom massacres, there’s a meme going around (again) which claims a child asked God why he isn’t present during school shootings, and God replied “Because I am not allowed in schools”. Never did hear why God was banned from Sutherland Springs, Tree of Life Synagogue or Emmanuel Baptist Church...

On that note, still waiting on the meme explaining where God is every time a boy gets molested by a priest…

Saw a bumper sticker that said “If Jesus had a gun, he would still be alive…”. Too many holes in that argument, not least of which being: wouldn’t all the Romans have had guns too?...

Fun Fact: “Thoughts and Prayers” don’t raise the dead. Nor do they keep the bullets from flying again…

Apparently, “All Lives Matter” only until birth. After that, we’re on our own…

So the hearings into the January 6^th Insurrection/Riot/Trump Rally are underway. According to “Patriotic” Americans, anyone holding an opinion stating the events of that day were wrong hates this country as much as people who don’t like mass shootings. By that logic, I must be a meth user since I don’t like heroin...

The Blue Lives Matter crowd have been eerily silent on Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone’s beating, with an American Flag no less. Just so we’re clear: beating a police officer who is attempting to defend our capitol: Good. Professional athletes protesting the murder of minorities: Bad...

Funny how those pissing and moaning about Biden and some of his verbal miscues continue to worship the guy who claimed windmills cause cancer, Lysol cures covid and Puerto Rico has a president...

On that note, I am waiting for Mexico to pay for the wall, and proof the 2020 Presidential Election was stolen...

If I actually had a large readership, I am certain a few replies would say “If you don’t like it why don’t you leave?!” Those people are like the Arizona Karen who told the Navajo girl “Go back where you came from!”…

Just finished reading Frederick Douglass “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” again. I cannot help but wonder What is the Fourth of July to a Woman… to a Trans Woman... To a Gay Man...

This nation was in existence for over 140 years before women gained the right to vote. 102 years later and now women do not have the right to their own bodies. As a therapist recently said in quoting a patient (with permission): “I have more right to own a gun designed to kill several people in a matter of seconds than I do to my own vagina”…

Parting Shot(s):

Tragedy struck Highland Park, Illinois in the form of six people murdered and dozens more injured. At a Fourth of July Parade. Guess there’s nothing more American than a good old fashioned mass shooting. Err, umm, I mean, exercising the right to keep and bear arms…

 I can think of six families who won't ever want to hear the words "Happy 4th of July" again...