Independence Day

So I'm at work yesterday afternoon, in The Happy Time. The seamstresses work 7-3. I decided I'd rather work 8-4, which gives me an hour to work with no interuptions, no aggravations, and no machines that need to be repaired by me (unless they kill one right before the day's over, which I don't think has happened yet). I can turn the radio up as loud as it'll go (which isn't that loud, unfortunately) or play some very un-PC tunes on the sad little CD player. Lately, the hard rockin' station has been playin' some good stuff in the afternoon. Yesterday was not one of those days.

I won't bore you with the playlist, but they played a good song about every other track. In between the crap I hate, like AC/DC's same old same again, and the stuff I dig, like that classic Led Zeppelin experimental stuff. The thing that bugs me is that the DJ who thinks he's creative and funny plays some stupid bit from the movie Independence Day about the President (I like Bill Pullman as an actor, but I'd never vote for the guy. If it had been Fred Thompson, he woulda been so money and he don't even know it; gets my vote in a heartbeat) sharing Independence Day with the whole world. We're fighting back! We're taking over again! Even the middle east and Africa...never mind that they haven't stopped fighting each other long enough to take a look at the rest of the world. Because I know everybody's seen that flick (once was enough, really) I'll just refresh yer memory with this quote:

President Thomas Whitmore: Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight!" We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!
[Crowd cheers]

Thanks to IMDB for the quote.

The DJ then goes to make some joke about how when the whole world needs to be saved, we call on the Fresh Prince of Bel Aire. Yeah, it was a bad joke; most of his are. He thinks he's hilarious. If he makes a funny, its usually an accident, but the sun shines on even a blind dog's ass once in a while. I'm not really sure what that means, but it has something to do with just gettin' lucky. His bad humor really wasn't the problem; the quote from the movie kinda bugged me, taken out of context.

The idea that July 4th is anyone's day of commemoration besides America's, at least in the context of America, is tremendously offensive to me. As with most holidays in America, this one seems to be another excuse to take a day off of work, with the added "bonus" of having fireworks involved, too. My jackass neighbors probably spent half their paychecks on what they lit off over the past couple nights. Nice of them to notice the time, but I digress. It seems like, for the most part, America has forgotten exactly what we're celebrating. Lemme break it down for ya.

We were founded as colonies of much larger (at the time) countries. Essentially, we were a new branch office of the homeland. That was cool until the homeland decided we had too much of a good thing goin' on, and they started seeing us as a source of income. That made our forefathers exceptionally mad, and we went to war with England to separate ourselves and gain our independence.

Now, America at that time did not have an Army. Didn't have a Navy. Marines didn't exist yet. They were ordinary citizens that risked their lives with no training for something they believed in. And they won.

About a decade later, they created the Constitution and founded the greatest country ever to grace the face of the earth. Click that hyperlink and read that Constitution. I bet its been a while for ya. Today's a good day to read it again. Every day's a good day to read it again.

Don't forget what it is that we're celebrating. Sure, its great to get together with friends and family and grillin' while hangin' out by the pool...I really miss the pool...but don't ever forget what today is all about. Its too important.