happy 4th...or is it?

it's fourth of july and i'm at work because i'm a nerdy workaholic and i have to finish some stuff before taking a vacation next week. but still i'd rather sit at my computer and blog about the state of our nation this 4th of july.

if you're like me and get your news from the internet and various blogs rather than networked news channels, you'll see that there's a lot of bullshit going on in washington, especially from our number 1 failure Dubya and his sidekick, or is cheney the real evil behind the scenes?



and there's been action for impeachment. yes, the american people are actually sick of bush and cheney, and congress might grow some balls and actually take action. but honestly i don't think there's any real point in doing it now. unless you get a real statement out, ie someone actually goes to jail, these calls for impeachment will end up just a handwaving gesture to appease the public until bush finishes his second term, happily retiring to his ranch much like paris hilton has happily retreated to hawaii after her sad excuse for a jail sentence.

i'm no political pundit so all i'm writing is purely a subjective, probably ill-informed opinion based on what i read and hear. after all, life for the average (relatively well off, middle class, white or as close to white as possible) american is just fine. but there's a gut feeling that the way the us is going probably won't be good for us in the near future, or for our children. what happens when the US becomes a surveillance state like britain has unknowingly become? what happens when our foreign relations are so down the drain that there's a large possibility of another real terrorist attack? in fact, just because of that fearful attitude, our lives have already been compromised. but we've been at it so long that americans are used to widespread id checks, long airport lines, internet surveillance.

so what do we have to celebrate for this 4th of july? i almost refused to celebrate today...partly because i shouldnt barbeque because i'm cutting weight, but also to complain about the US. why should i be patriotic? why should i salute our flag, which is being used to run illegal wars, abroad and at home? why should i be proud of a nation that originally voted this idiot into office, and still supports him to some degree?



but then i realized that to celebrate the fourth purely for our times is arrogant and unjustified. the 4th of july is symbolic of the history of the united states, and the original founding of a great nation that has only recently strayed from its path. this date represents the genius and foresight of our fathers - washington, jefferson, adams, madison, hamilton. it does not represent any sort of bush at all. i will salute their ideas that america was founded on the principle of freedom and democracy. jefferson was the original american advocate of small government and feared exactly what would happen today. his secretary of state and next president, james madison, stated that a president should be impeached if he is suspected of protecting anyone associated with him for a crime he had a hand in. just like libby. (from daily kos) so it looks like the fourth of july represents everything right about our nation...and everything wrong about today.

so celebrate the 4th like you mean it. drink the beer and eat the burgers, but remember what they are for. this nation needs it.


i swear allegiance...