Wood stars-and-stripes Bow Tie o’ Yesterday is a fitting tank top bow tie for any patriotic occasion. I believe the idea of “dissent” is appropriate to this American occasion, too. This country was born out of dissent, and our history tells us that every expansion of the idea of what America is, has been mined from veins of that original dissent. Dissent is neither good, nor bad in itself. It is a force for change, and change will always be imperfect. It is the responsibility and right of each citizen to use our dissent gun wisely.
When I woke up this morning, my first thought was, “Is it still the 3rd/4th/5th of July?” Since the holiday fell on a Sunday this year, celebrations were scattered across all three days. We watched fireworks coming from various nearby locales from the bedroom deck for three nights in a row. Some of the parades happened on Saturday, the 3rd and some on Monday, the 5th—the 5th having been declared the official observance of this year’s Independence Day. Some parades happened on the actual 4th, but none of those happened around here. So, for me, it was the 4th of July for three days in a row, and I never quite felt like any of the three days was a complete 4th. Independence Day should feel somewhat unified in time and purpose, but nobody seemed to know exactly where and when the “real” party for the U.S. of A. was taking place.
I’ve been to more than a few dinner parties where some attendees disregarded the information on their invitations and simply showed up late, at their own convenience—making everybody’s dinner cold. Those kinds of dinner parties are generally the ones where something goes unnecessarily wrong. The people who showed up on time tend to get a little too tipsy, drinking whiskey sours on empty stomachs while waiting far too long for the inconsiderately late guests to show up. People get edgy. Too tipsy and too edgy? No good can come of that. To stifle confusion, can’t the 4th of July be on the 4th of July every year? There’s something simple and logical about that radical idea, I know. But we could try it. Please, oh, please!