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What does July 4th mean to you?

Question by Ringo Fan (Over 40 in America): What does July 4th mean to you?
To some it is merely a date on the calendar. Some 200 years ago it was the date in which a new country was born. An independent nation, separate and distinct from its parent nation. It was a time in which monarchs were chosen by God to rule over their subjects who had little or no voice in their own government. It is a time in which America as an independent nation from Great Britain celebrates freedom. Freedom to vote for our elected officials including the chief executive. We have Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Assembly, and so forth. That’s three out of four. Norman Rockwell did the Four Freedoms painting. Forgive me I am having a senior moment.
In the summer of 2001 I was visiting Ireland and I was with a group of students in an International Business course from Boston. We took a bus up to Belfast. There was a troubled section of the city with murals on the walls of buildings with men in ski masks. The streets were empty except for police and national guard patrol units. People both young and old were escorted from home to school or work in buses. Many buildings, including schools for young children were fenced in with barbed wire. The British police carried semi automatic weapons. Some British police and soldiers were dressed in riot gear. And I wondered if America lost the Revolutionary War to Great Britain, would Boston be like Belfast today. Would there be no Boston Red Sox, no Fenway Park, no New England Patriots. Just soccer fields everywhere and with the British soldiers patrolling empty streets.
I just got off the phone with my mother. She is convinced that I voted for Obama for President. She chastises me. I could tell her that I voted for McCain but she refuses to believe me. “This recession is all your fault. You people wanted a black man for President and now we have all this.” Yes, mom it is my fault. Gladly I accept the blame. And I thank God that I am free and that any belief that Queen Elizabeth or any of her family has any right to say anything to me as her subject is a damned lie. The British red coats were sent on a hastened retreat to Canada and now America is free.
To say that I hate the British people would also be a lie. I do not have anything against the Brits. I am an admirer of Winston Churchill and I am a big Beatles fan. Needless to day, Churchill had American relatives and John Lennon and Ringo Starr moved to the US.
Anyway, getting back to the holiday. It began with an idea. An idea for independence. Some people call it a democracy but it is not a pure democracy like Ancient Greece. It is a Constitutional Republic or something like that. I was not a political science major.
I am not that smart but I do know that somewhere in Iraq or Afghanistan at the moment you read this, some American soldier is being killed for my freedom to write this . For those soldiers who have died for my freedom, I thank you.
The Fourth of July is about fireworks, barbecues, swimming at the beach, sun tans, bike riding,and just enjoying a day off of work. I have worked many July 4ths in restaurants and stores. Some of the workers parties at work were better than staying home. For many things it is, the most important thing is about freedom. I didn’t vote for Obama. I thought Sarah Palin had better legs. It was my choice, albeit a ridiculous reason to vote for a President. Gladly I celebrate my freedom to vote and all the rest.
What does July 4th mean to you?

Best answer:

Answer by The Ween
Happy Birthday United States!

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