I was going to rip you off, and probably myself in the process, by reprinting my 240 Candles piece but I thought you deserve better. America deserves better. This is exactly the line of reasoning which is conspicuously absent from our government apparatchiks. Therefore, I will buck this disheartening trend and take this opportunity to remind Americans that the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on the Second of July. It was only read publicly on the Fourth. The Founders had to flee Philadelphia because they had just committed Treason. They were now armed felons sworn to bring down the State. So, if you love your Liberty hug an armed felon. It was their type who gave us real Freedom, not the freedom to a 40 hour work week, V.A. loans, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Home mortgage deductions, Federally enforced Ponzi schemes, or the “right" to be a slave to your cell phone. Thank God, the Founding Felons had something more Principled in mind and may God forgive us for forgetting that.
With that being said, I’ve elected to rip us all off by reprinting the Purpose in Patriotism instead. That’s the beauty of being an aging writer, increasingly we’ve already written all there is to be said. That's the deal...
The Purpose in Patriotism
I understand, times are tough and patriotic displays are one place we can afford to cut spending. A few dollars for fireworks on the Fourth and a "Support Our Troops" bumper sticker for under three bucks. That's about all we've got, just like everyone else. Oh, and we sing the National Anthem before baseball games. We all do that too. Things have cooled over the past couple decades, and we don't want to look like Nationalists. They are all murdering racists.
Being a patriot got a bad rap in the 1980's when love of America took a back seat to the white supremacist, gun-toting lunatic in the woods of wherever who was certain the Guberment (not a typo) was gonna kill us in them FEMA camps the UN was setting up. Oddly enough, this redefinition of patriotism took place at the same time being a "Global citizen" came into fashion.
Weird, huh? I'm not saying it was a conspiracy. It's just one of those perfectly timed, well-planned coincidences that happen rather frequently. Sort of like those chemical weapon attacks made by some deranged leader on his own people (and who has decided to stop using Federal Reserve Notes) right before the U.S. takes a pining to invading the "madman's" country like Iraq, Syria, and Libya. Remember Chemical Ali? It kinda' makes you wonder, "Who would be crazy enough to stock these lunatics with chemical weapons?" It's damn peculiar. I mean mighty damn peculiar.
Nevertheless, patriotism is a good thing because it reminds us that even when we disagree, we're still all on the same side. That's important. Otherwise, we might turn into disparate, feuding factions. We'd be susceptible to manipulations by a biased media who told us what to think and feel rather than what happened in the world today. That would be propaganda, not news. United we stand, right?
If we didn't hang together, the next thing we'd know we'd be jumping from one endless war to another and swindled by corrupt politicians who were in bed with sleazy business tycoons. The perpetrators of giant financial scams would remain nameless while Congress ran up the debt on the national charge card like reckless teenagers on a spending spree once they realize they're never gonna' pay it off. Political parties would be defrauding the voters, political candidates would walk away from felonies free as can be in a country where the people don't give a s#!t about their future because they don't see one.
It's all been so mismanaged for so long it's hopeless. No matter who you vote for, it's just more of the same disastrous policies that got us to this place of despair. Just take a Valium, smoke an Oxycontin, shoot some heroin, pull the covers over your head and hope it all goes away. Worst case scenario, you can just shoot yourself and call it an endless night, right?