July 4th Weekend

Hopefully, no one will be offended by me less than eloquent entries as I believe that in order to improve my writing (for the Lost Child novel), I must deal with more volume and less vocabulary in my blog entries, so hopefully this is a start of a new beginning...Actually, who am I kidding, no one reads this crap anyways.

Ahh, the 4th of July is coming up, and as far as my practical concerns for the holiday, it is basically where am I drinking and what am I cooking. In years past, I have had hits with bacon wrapped mushrooms stuffed with scallops, and sushi rolls for my San Diego friends. This year, I think and reflection upon why I am celebrating this holiday might be an interesting twist. Maybe it will give me some ideas on how to celebrate.

Independence Day is a celebration of the enactment of the Declaration of Independence. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, and signed first by John Hancock on July 4, 1776, the Declaration was based on the premise that a foreign entity did not have the right to control the 13 colonies due to the natural desire for man's right of self determination. Located in the preamble, the famous words are:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

According to David McCullough, the words pursuit of Happiness originally read "Life, Liberty and Property", but was change upon the suggestion of Ben Franklin (who was never President, BTW). I feel the need to rephrase this maxim because the words have become so ingrained in our psyches that we rarely reflect on what they actually mean. Much like the lyrics of No Woman, No Cry (no, it's not a breakup song...).

"Mofo, you know I'm right when I say that: 1. everyone is the same except for women and minorities, and 2. you can't kill me, put me in jail, or cockblock me anymore."

*don't forget that when this was written women couldn't vote and slavery was legal.

I guess in order to honor our Country this weekend, I must: 1. not die; 2. don't get arrested; and 3. find someone to sleep with me...the third one might be a little tricky.

So I guess when you are out there this weekend, don't forget a bunch of slave owning white men fought for the right to not pay taxes, so that you could enjoy your bud lights and fireworks. I would say that the holiday is more significant, but if you look at it, we still have friends that are sent of to die so that the U.S. can control another country's oil, (good luck B. Lee, keep your head down); we don't have a right to health care; we circumvent the "god given" right of liberty (or habeas corpus) to our prisoners in another country; and we can be happy, as long as our happiness isn't repulsive to the Republicans.

Don't get me wrong, I am patriotic, but mostly based on things we've done in the past. So to quell the fervent rantings of those who would undoubtedly chastise me for these comments, I offer the following list of why I am proud to be an American, and why I am proud of this country.

1. Al Gore used his political influence to actually push the subject of environmental protection further than it has ever been.
2. Because the people of NYC didn't riot, but helped each other after 9/11
3. Because the Internet isn't censored here.
4. We are always the first to send troops in just causes.
5. Thomas Edison
6. We have the most TV stations.
7. We are a society based upon the marketplace of ideas.

any other reasons?