I think we might make more flag-based clothing than any other country in the world. It’s a dubious record. On the one hand we both pride the option to and revile the actual act of burning the flag, but make no qualms about wearing it on our butts. I find that odd. I find a lot of things odd about this country, and here on the eve of our independence day, I want to cover just a few.
- ‘They hate us cuz they ain’t us/they hate our freedom’ became the clarion call of the war in Iraq, AKA the war on terror. I don’t believe that warcry one bit. People don’t want to be us, but that is what we would have the world believe. Instead, people want some of the things we have, like technical advancements. We have more than darn near anyone and flaunt it. The problem is finding places that actually have complete access to those advancements. See, at the same time we have a crumbling infrastructure and a second-class citizen system that predominantly affects people of (certain) color. For example, the deteriorating water system up north still hasn’t received a proper emergency response, but if a tornado hits Oklahoma, there are piles of money ready to be delivered.
- Wars that have no possibility of victory shouldn’t be called wars. War on Terror. Ain’t gonna end terrorism and guerilla warfare. Cannot be done. War on Drugs. Can’t win that without surrendering by legalizing drugs. War on Crime. A society without crime is a myth.
- The politics of Bullshit. The reason why this election season is for crap is because people don’t ‘like’ the candidates. They—we don’t believe in anyone in a significant way. We elect ideas and ideals and fail to elect policy, but it is policy that governs the people.
All of this being said, I love the country I live in. I love that I can voice my opinion and maybe be shouted down but not shot. I too plan to celebrate tomorrow as we raise our glasses to independence.