Only 4 more days until the 2010 Piccolo Pete 500. Firework stands have been popping up around my town since last week. I think they begin selling on the 1st. I can hardly wait.
I love everything about the 4th of July. It is definately my favorite holiday. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas, but it is way to commercialized for me. (If we could stick with recognizing the reason for the season, it would be a lot less stressful. I mean really... it would still be Christmas without all of the gifts!) While money is exchanged to celebrate the 4th - with the HUGE amount of fireworks sold (at ridiculously high prices), it is still not as commercialized as Christmas. And to me, it wouldn't be the 4th without the fireworks.
I know there are advocates out there that would like to stop the sell of fireworks. These are the same radicals that want to make MacDonald Happy Meals illegal and stop privately owned restuarants from putting salt on their tables for use by their patrons. They are liberals and CONTROL freaks! They want to regulate every aspect of our lives, because they think we aren't doing a good job of it ourselves. Well, to hell with them! You can't regulate ignorance. If someone wants to eat happy meals every night of the week and cover their french fries in salt, then let them. If I want to sit down with a pound of See's candy and eat it in one sitting, whose going to stop me? Are they going to come up with a law to make See's limit what they can sell to customers? If they want to focus on regulating something, why not go after the idiots that drink and drive? Or, better yet, why not impose higher taxes on U.S. companies that outsource most of their work overseas? Maybe they could keep a few jobs here, where we need it.
But I digress.... I LOVE FIREWORKS!!! And I will protest LOUDLY if my city council tries (again) to outlaw them. Just like anything else, when you have something available to everyone, and some of those people are STUPID, you are bound to have mishaps. But don't penalize ME, the law abiding citizen for someone else's stupidity.
I digress...(again).... Back to why I love the 4th. Besides the fireworks, I love thinking about the men and women who have fought for my freedom, those that are now fighting for me, and those that will continue to fight to uphold freedom. God Bless Them AND their families! I think I understand the sacrifice they are making for me... but in reality, I probably can't begin to comprehend the extent of their sacrifice as they spend time away from their families. Or the sacrifice of their family members as they go on living without their loved one at home, praying that they will some day come home. I LOVE my freedom of speech - which I have because some soldier defended my right to say what I feel - even if they don't feel the same way.
I LOVE the 4th because it is a LOUD holiday. Not just because of the fireworks but because of the laughing and horse play that goes on while family and friends gather to celebrate. When a lot of people get together, it tends to get noisy. I LOVE the fact that we gather together NOT because we are giving each other store boughten gifts, but because we WANT to be together! I LOVE the sense of 'belonging' that exists where I live. The feeling that everyone is welcome. I LOVE the family traditions we have established over the years. I LOVE our race! I LOVE the food. I LOVE the colors of red, white and blue! I LOVE singing the Star Spangled Banner and getting all choked up. I LOVE my country!
When I think about July 4th, I can't help but reflect on all of my blessings. I've been to other 3rd world countries (not many, but a couple). WE HAVE IT GOOD HERE, and most people don't even know it. I wonder why I am so blessed to have been born here, raised in a good family, receive an education, have as many opportunities open to me as I am willing to see.... I know why we have a huge problem with immigration. (Which I won't get into now), But if you want to know the value of a country - raise it's borders. Do people run out, or do they run in? For the U.S., they run in. Are we as excited to be here? I am. And I am grateful for a holiday that lets me express that excitement.
