Happy 4th of July
I really should say "Happy Independence Day" since calling it "the 4th of July" does nothing to explane why it is worthy of celebration, but alas I digress.
Idiologically Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. I am a civically minded, conservative, Mormon, history major so I love the USA and the principles on which it was founded and which it should repressent. However, in its execussion and celebration, it dosn't do much for me. Here in Sacramento there is a parade, there is bar-b-que'n' there are fire works, there are car sales where you can CELEBRATE YOUR INDEPENDENCE FROM YOUR OLD CAR and other nonsence, and that is about it.I don't want a new car, it is to hot to get excited about parades and BBQs, and honestly fireworks don't do much for me.
However, I have grown rather partial to the 4th of July tradition that my father and brothers (the older ones anyways) and I have. We do community service, every july 4th for the past seven years we have headed to the Elks Lodge at 8:00am and loaded pick up trucks with cones, signs and traffic barriers and spent the morning setting up, trouble shooting, and taking down things for the big parade. It is hard, hot work, that for the most part goes unnoticed and unappriciated but it is our tradition. (For those of you that know us it probably dosn't come as a surprise that one of our families most established traditions is manual labor.)
I guess to me it just feels right to commemorate the freedom of this great nation by serving the people around me, especially considering the shortage of people to discuss Jefferson, Hamilton, and Maddison with.
Happy Independence Day, God bless America
Idiologically Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. I am a civically minded, conservative, Mormon, history major so I love the USA and the principles on which it was founded and which it should repressent. However, in its execussion and celebration, it dosn't do much for me. Here in Sacramento there is a parade, there is bar-b-que'n' there are fire works, there are car sales where you can CELEBRATE YOUR INDEPENDENCE FROM YOUR OLD CAR and other nonsence, and that is about it.I don't want a new car, it is to hot to get excited about parades and BBQs, and honestly fireworks don't do much for me.
However, I have grown rather partial to the 4th of July tradition that my father and brothers (the older ones anyways) and I have. We do community service, every july 4th for the past seven years we have headed to the Elks Lodge at 8:00am and loaded pick up trucks with cones, signs and traffic barriers and spent the morning setting up, trouble shooting, and taking down things for the big parade. It is hard, hot work, that for the most part goes unnoticed and unappriciated but it is our tradition. (For those of you that know us it probably dosn't come as a surprise that one of our families most established traditions is manual labor.)
I guess to me it just feels right to commemorate the freedom of this great nation by serving the people around me, especially considering the shortage of people to discuss Jefferson, Hamilton, and Maddison with.
Happy Independence Day, God bless America
posted by a.lost.boy | 8:28 PM
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