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Lately, I haven’t felt like celebrating the Fourth of July. Not since I’ve become an adult anyway. I miss the feeling of pride I once felt when I heard our National Anthem, and getting goose bumps during the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s not so much being a kid that I miss, but the wonderful ignorance that went along with it.
“Well that’s terrible, mikey777. Don’t you love America?”
I do love America. I’m extremely proud of all our troops both past and present for fighting for our country. But growing up has ruined this holiday for me completely, now that I know how things really are in America. It’s difficult for me to celebrate what I’ve now deemed a ’surface holiday’.
“So just what the hell is a surface holiday?”
A surface holiday, in short, is a holiday that’s celebrated on the surface of America. It’s kind of like putting on a happy face when the in-laws come for a visit. Everyone acts polite, but knows that there are underlying problems that wouldn’t warrant a celebration.
I know that by now, you must either think I’m nuts or the Grinch That Stole the Fourth of July, so I’ll give you some examples to show how I’ve come to this conclusion. Below are some excerpts from the Declaration of Independence that have been “forgotten about”.
(Note: the word “He” in these phrases refer to the King of Great Britain, but you can substitute Bush if you like. I do.)
The Declaration of Independence clearly states that “A Prince (or President in our case), whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
And we keep on voting them into office. The next President will likely infringe on our rights too, if we let him. It’s damn near a historical fact of life.
The secret to a better Fourth of July is simple: Make an Independence Day resolution this year to take a stand for what you believe in, so that next year we can have a true celebration of independence to be remembered. Let’s finally have a say in how our America should be governed.
I’ll leave you with the immortal words of Thomas Jefferson: “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”
mikey777 @ July 5, 2008
You've Got To Be Kidding Comments (4)
“Think your fo call AOL. How can today your need be serve most bestly?” “Please for you to tell me question more infonation clearly again”.
I swear I get the same person every time I call the AOL tech. service line, and this is the response I get.
Why?
Because AOL is paying someone in India 23 cents a week to take my call. The company is called America Online for God’s sake, yet the outsourcing epidemic has transferred my call halfway around the world, to someone who can barely read English from a computer screen. What gives?
Used to be that the words “Made in the USA” were something to be proud of. An accomplishment even. Buying American made products not only supported the workers who manufactured and shipped the stuff, but it supported the morale of America as a whole. Believe it or not, most of us used to take pride in doing our jobs well.
Now the “Made in the USA” phrase is useless, and damn near an outright lie. Some things are assembled here in America, but very few are actually manufactured here. Countries like Mexico, China, and even India get the credit for that stuff.
Are we so hell-bent on making more money that we would sell out our own workers to make a couple extra bucks? Should we really be subjecting our children to the toxic, lead-based painted toys of another country to save on labor costs? Even though these things pose deadly health risks, we keep on buying, without skipping a beat.
Not only have we sold America’s workers down the river, but our economy, security and value as a country as well. The way jobs and industry are being lost overseas to the lowest bidder, one would think that America has run out of natural resources or something. But we all know that’s far from the truth. We’re only out of one important resource, and that is integrity.
American businesses promote terrible acts of injustice by using overseas manufacturers. By using foreign industry, America has promoted the use of sweat shops in China, allowed child labor in Korea, and have committed people to lives of poverty and despair in Mexico. We might as well say that we’re in favor of these practices, as our money is what fuels those situations. All the while, American workers suffer as a result of job loss, and consumers suffer because of poorly made products.
I wish I could tell you, my cherished reader, to buy American, but I can’t. There really is no such thing as “Made in America” any more. The tables are quickly turning, to a point that we as American workers may be the ones made to work in sweat-shop like conditions for a few dollars per day. The more industry we lose, the more other countries gain.
Who knows? We may be the next country cranking out a pair of Nike Air Jordan shoes for $20 a pop. China and other countries could be selling American knock-offs at their flea markets and on Ebay. “Is that a Qing-Xa Nguyen original?” “Nah, it’s just a cheap American imitation.” That’s all we need.
Anyone have an idea of where we went wrong?
Was it simple greed?
God, I hope not.
mikey777 @ July 3, 2008
