So I'm a day late because I've been trying to formulate what I want to say in my head in a way that makes sense and conveys how much I think we have to be grateful for in this country without being naive or rose-colored.
I was camping for the weekend so this year I didn't see much by the way of actual patriotic celebrating...not even a single live firework, depressing I know. But as I was thinking about the holiday, nothing is so hilarious, self-fulfilling, and the ultimate paradoxical reality that we can't celebrate being American without stuffing ourselves with food and blowing things up in the sky. For one day a year we pull out our stars-and-stripes in every form imaginable whether by face paint, clothing, or decor and place our patriotism on parade for a solid 12 hours before going to bed, waking up and complaining that nothing is right in this dumb country of ours.
Is there anything more American than that?
And it might be a little sad that we take so much for granted, but at least for that one day we actually have something to celebrate. Even if we only take a few hours, we know for every second of that day, the 4th of July, that we live in the greatest country in the world.
Each of the other 364 days in a year, we can find something to complain about but all it takes is a little perspective to see that we have every reason to celebrate.
Do we realize that the reason we have the privilege to complain or even just express opinion at all on public platforms like social media is because we live in America? There are countries where people die for anything spoken against government and country.
Do we realize that we don't need to draft men into the military because there are enough people in our country who choose to go through the rigorous mental and physical training it takes to protect and fight for us? There are still over 30 countries that draft 18 year old's into their military.
Do we realize that any person can learn anything they want to in a country with a 99% literacy rate with 0% difference between genders? We have free public libraries with access to books and computers, public schools, and other endless resources for those who seek them while there are still countries with less than 50% literacy rates and huge discrepancies between genders.
It's easy to forget how blessed we really are here in the USA, when comparatively with the world we have it pretty darn good. I'm not writing this ignorance of issues, or under the pretense that everything is perfect and sunny here in America. We have corruption, crime, and lots and lots of debt. But what I'm trying to say is that in general, as a whole people, we're pretty darn unique.
As I was driving back from camping through the canyon on my way home to Logan the song "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood came on the radio. I've remembered all the lyrics since my class sang it in 4th grade for some kind of patriotic event. As I sang along (softy that I am) I got all choked up as I loudly proclaimed:
"I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free"
I thought how significant that sentence was just then when I wasn't feeling too positive on America's overall outlook for the future. The point of the 4th of July isn't to pretend like we've got it all figured out. It's to celebrate independence and freedom. And if nothing else here in America, "at least I know I'm free."
If seeing our flag waving in the wind or little kids in jeans with flags painted on each cheek doesn't move you at all, you may need a little reevaluating, because this country was built on the blood of men and women who believed that there could be a place where certain human "inalienable rights [which include] life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" could be achieved. We sure as heck aren't perfect but to only focus on the bad and negative and wrongs in our country is to do a disservice to every person who has fought in the last 239 years to preserve those inalienable rights. We are blessed with freedom.
And that is worth blowing some chemicals up in the sky.
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