Jul 042017
Traditionally I have celebrated Independence Day with excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, videos of the local fireworks display, and lessons on the differences between true patriotism and nationalism, but that was when the US was an independent nation, not under foreign domination.
I’m sorry, but as long as Donald Trump, Putin’s Puppet, and his Republican Reich stay in power and keep the US in thrall to Russia, the 4th of July will be a day of mourning.
RESIST!!
18 Responses to “Fourth of July 2017”
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I do take your point.
Yet there is this … (and, yes, I know it’s a commercial for ancestry dot com. It’s still heartening.)
And here is an EXCELLENT reason to quote broadly from the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July or any other day – it pisses off Trump supporters.
Great minds do fall in the same ditch, and I’m afraid today’s lead article is ready to upload, so folhs will get a double dose.
Well, then, I’m glad I didn’t say much. But it’s worth talking a double look.
I certainly agree.
Sad, isn’t it? I feel the pain.
Awesome video, Joanne. Thank YOU. (I’m passing this along)…
Well, we had some pretty heavy rain in the morning – but nothing like this …
But it moved on, and although overcast we were able to enjoy some fine festive food for the Fourth …
And then sit back to take in some “fireworks” – suited for my elderly age …
I haven’t had one in many years, but that sure is tempting!
I am very much NOT a Jingoist! I know this is my country, but as with all of us, where we are born, if we are native born, other than Native Americans, to some extent, is an accident of time, place, and biology. “America is the greatest?” Well, if I had been born in Switzerland, or wherever, I’d probably be expected to proclaim Switzerland, or wherever, as the greatest, and so on.
I have long felt that while this is a wonderful place, it is far, far, from fulfilling its potential, its promise, to really be welcoming, caring, nurturing, and THIS year it is showing its ugly, venal, slimy underbelly in bold print!!!!
The Statue of Liberty stands for welcoming, but each wave of immigrants gets shit on, in turn; then, of course there are the descendants of forced immigrants, who were shit upon,and continue to be shit upon; we are supposed to believe in religious freedom, but that concept is now being used, is being twisted, to bully anyone other than the Pseudo-Christians, as they struggle to build their Theocracy!
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true. The other is to refuse to believe what is true.”Soren Kierkegaard, (by way of the Pam!) THIS year old Soren looks like a soothsayer!!!!!!!
THIS is a sad year.
I found this in an ad, just a moment ago, and see it as putting into better words than I did, my above sentiments:America began with one word: “We.”Today, the most powerful nation in the history of the world began with a single word: We. We the people.
America was founded on the revolutionary promise that there could be a land that belongs to all who call it home. But, never in our nation’s history has the revolutionary promise of America been fulfilled.
From the founding of this nation, some of us were not considered fully human; mere fractions in the equation of freedom. The founding wounds of this nation – slavery and the genocide of native peoples – have never fully healed.
We, the people, have been divided by those who believe America is theirs alone. They chained America and jealously stole away the bounty and beauty of this nation for themselves. Those greedy few who say the value of human life is determined by how much money we make, the color of our skin, or where we were born. They claim to love America, but hate millions of Americans.
But, there have always been those who know the greatness of our nation comes from the power of We, the people. This America has always been struggling to be born. She was there at Selma and Stonewall and Seneca Falls. She was the factory workers who organized. As the poet Langston Hughes writes, she was the dream deferred. She too sang America.
In this moment of darkness, we are called upon to join the fight for the soul of our nation.
It’s time for our nation to make real the dreams of generations and complete the project of America. It’s time to give birth to a new nation, in which the founding creed of liberty and justice for all is made real in the lives of the people – not just dry ink on parchment.
Now, it is time for us to realize we are not united by shared ancestry, but by shared destiny. That we come from many places, but we can become one people. It’s time for us to fulfill the revolutionary promise of America and make this land belong to all who call it home.
It’s time to make, “We, The People,” finally include all of us.
Great wisdom in that ad, Mitch. Thanks for posting it.
Brilliant, Mitch! Thanks….as always.
TYVM Mitch!
I hope everyone had a good holiday, despite the dark clouds hanging over the country, perhaps by finding a more personal way of enjoying the day and focusing on the good that is in America. And with recharged batteries start again to:
I certainly understand where you are coming from. With Drumpf, I think the US has found a whole new meaning for American exceptionalism. Until Americans rise up in a new revolution, the Drumpfs of the country will prevail. The rising has started, but it must be sustained.
Resist and Persist!!!
Congratulations to Canada celebrating their 150th year as a country on July 1st as we, in USA, celebrated our Independence Day on July 4th. I hope everyone had a pleasant and safe celebration of their country’s birthday.
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Thanks all. Sweltering hugs!!