We're coming up on the 4th of July, and usually it's on of my more favored holidays during the year. Generally the holidays that involve cooking and such are the ones that I like the most. But, I'm also a big fan of America, or at least the ideas of America and what it's all supposed to be about. This makes sense as someone who works in history every day. I mean, we spend a lot of time going to historic places, I read a ton of nonfiction about history, it's a big part of what I'm interested in. Of course, being someone who's studied it, I'm also aware of the contradictions, the shortcomings, and the challenges that we have to make this a more perfect union. But, in generals I'm pretty patriotic, in a healthy and realistic way. Of course, this is one of those big year type of celebrations. A quarter of a millennium is a big round number that warrants some extra celebrations, and of course there are so many countries out there that have us beat and have shit that's ten times as old (I've been to Rome). Still, it's a big marking period and in normal circumstances it should be a big deal and something that we all can get behind.
Unfortunately, it's not a normal year because we're being led by a narcissist moron who has to piss in everyone's Cheerios. What could have been a moment of unity instead is being co-opted by the stupidest people and turned into something that's really just kind of sad and lame. There's a "national county fair" which, could be something that's interesting, but it's just kind of weird and silly. There's a big fireworks display, but it's disrupting the annual traditions because it's being turned into a national rally for the president to stroke his ego and that of his supporters. It could have been led by a bipartisan commission that was set up, but all their money was taken and given to his partisan hacks to turn it into, not a celebration of the country, but a celebration of one party, one idea, and one side of America. It's all really just kind of disappointing, and could have been so much cooler, and would have been with probably literally any other president. I mean, If George W. Bush were there (despite disagreeing with basically everything he did and believed), I think it would have been a very normal and positive kind of environment.
But, instead here we are, and I don't know exactly what to feel great about. We are in a rather shitty place, there's a lot of uncertainty, a lot of corruption, and things are not going in a great direction. Because of this it's really hard to feel celebratory about the country. It's basically as if we're going to have this awesome pool party, but a drunk asshole jumped in and took a giant dookie in the pool, so now who would want to get in? So, what is it really to celebrate the country when we can see how flawed and inadequate or systems are because they were designed under the impression that people would have some moral fiber and stand up to the kind of nonsense that we are seeing. That our branches would actually check each other rather than just acquiesce to each other. That the safeguards would be ignored because it's become a parliamentary mindset of our side must always win in an environment that was not set up to work that way.
What a disappointment.
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