My fellow Americans, I’ve gotta tell you - on a night like tonight its hard not to feel like a million bucks. Sunshine, check. Fireworks, check. Stunning sunset, check. Moon rise with the best view of the Milky Way in the BK, check. Ah, but there’s something missing and I cant put my finger on it. Well actually I can but your never gonna find out who it is. So Independence Day has landed upon us again. I’m a huge fan of secular holidays like Thanksgiving and the 4
th of July. They make people think about America and dream about what it means to be American. There are not enough people who do that. I am an American citizen born in Amsterdam. I was conceived miraculously and in a blinding two minute flood of brilliant white light I wholly formed in my mothers womb. I came into this world during her dream of the golden lotus and was delivered by a man with nine fingers. To be honest with you I understand that’s allot to digest but everything that’s happened since then has been firmly grounded in terra firma. I digress. As a former expatriate who returned to America not too long ago, I feel like I have an outsiders perspective and can tell you first hand that this place truly is like no other. I’ve always visualized the maturity of a civilization by conceptualizing it as a single individual at various ages of his life. China, Egypt and Iran are Grandpapas while France, Mexico, Italy and Japan would be just over the hill, lets say late 50’s. America however is a savagely hormonal teenager plowing through his post-pubescent adolescence with pimples and all. There’s obviously room to grow and perhaps we would do best to keep the mistakes we’ve made close to our hearts as we grow old together so that we repeat as few of them as possible. You know throughout the greatness and grandeur of the ancient Egyptian dynasties no person was born a citizen. Citizenship with all of its rewards and responsibilities was something that you had to earn. You needed to learn to respect what it meant to be a citizen and understand the duties of citizenship before you could be initiated into it. If they had woven some of that message into all those Rambo and Rocky movies of the 80’s perhaps our generation would feel more in the spirit of veneration when the 4
th rolls around every year.
So having said all of that – here are a bunch of super American pictures and websites to make ya feel good about it. Also, I’ve included one of my favorite films on youtube so watch the video and be damn happy you live in the country you do. My fellow Americans, I leave the future in your capable hands…Also, if you can keep your hands where I can see them while you read this that would be great,
Thanks!
Avery!
oh! P.S.
The ninety-fifth annual Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest was held on July 4, 2010. Three-time defending champion Joey Chestnut successfully defended his title by consuming 54 hot dogs and buns (HDBs) in 10 minutes. Go America.
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