Born on the Fourth of July Department…

Well Saturday is the Fourth of July and we Americans will do what we are excellent at doing.  Spending money, eating out, and just plain old partying to celebrate our Independence.  From what though?  I mean, the original day was to celebrate our independence from England and the fact that we are a country on our own.  Now, we seem to be a country lost.  It seems we are no longer a government by the people for the people but are run by special interest groups, political action committees (PACs) and oil executives backed by Wall Street rip offs.

Yes this puts a spike right through the ol cook out and fireworks.  On the national level, we are fucked.  Locally, our city council can’t even come together on garbage collection. We are taxed without proper representation because these people in power dream up ways to tax and tax us again.  Yet we blindly go on like sheep.

That all aside, I am going to celebrate the Fourth for two reasons.

Reason one; I am a Viet Nam era vet and even though at the time I came home, I couldn’t even wear my uniform without getting a slur and at times spit on, I am going to honor the veterans of our country by displaying my flag.  The American Flag.  I am not going to put a yellow car magnet on my car or a sticker that says: “Support Our Troops” because people who do those things are to me phony son of a bitches.  Oh OK, I hear these people.  They say we support our troops, but as long as the bombs don’t go off in my suburban backyard and damage my boat, Ski-doo, or my 8 ton SUV I need to get to the mall.  These type of people have never really witnessed what a war really is or the death that goes with war.  They are just concerned as they watch the evening news from their tri-floor country estate with their 2 and a half kids and dog.

Americans have become too soft, greedy, and yes, we have become corrupt,  It is going to cost us sooner or later and I am afraid it will be sooner rather than later.

I don’t talk much about my experiences when I was overseas and I have only told a few people about the time I saw a LTJG (that’s lieutenant junior grade, US Navy) get his face blown off.  I still think about that day every now and then but maybe that is what gives me balance and why I am so cynical sometimes.  I don’t know. Read my friend’s blog.  He knows where I am coming from and he has been in worse.  He knows. Thank you Larry.  You served.

Reason Two; I was born on the Fourth of July.  So I guess I am a real live nephew of my Uncle Sam.  I have great memories of my birthdays when I was a kid growing up in a neighborhood that close off our dead end court and held a huge Fourth of July bash. 

Whatever your celebration, stop and think about the people, the veterans, all of them, that gave so much so you can party without fear of a bomb going off, or the secret police coming and arresting you in the middle of the night. 

I thank our fore fathers for their courage to start our country and I thank our soldiers for their courage to keep our country safe.  I just wish we could roast a politician at each party across this nation and along with them, a lobbyist.  I still feel bad that I gave away my uniform when I came home.  Not like I could fit into it today though.

As for support…been there done that.

Happy Fourth of July!