Happy 4th of July!

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On a day which celebrates the birth of a new and wonderful nation, I will celebrate. Nothing fancy mind you, having moved into a new place, only partly unpacked, with a kitchen only half way arranged, and few friends in this new place, it will be a humble grill and chill day. Do what you can with what you have though. I suppose that is what brought this young nation to prominence. Well, that and a government which usually did not interfere.

Of course, that whole line of thinking ends in an uncomfortable place, in spite of or because of the day being what it is. And, though I will celebrate, I cannot help but follow that line of thought to various possible conclusions. Only a few of those conclusions are celebratory in nature. I realize, like every man who has stepped out of his door and realized he would have to fight and maybe die for this nation, that I am in a war. Now, like during the Revolution, the war is on my doorstep, and the enemy is advancing still.

All that has allowed this nation, this geographic region, and these (my) people to advance to financial, industrial, educational, military, technological, and other prominence has been the freedom of the people. That freedom has not been so much a libertine freedom, but a freedom from criminals and the government. At this time, as probably always anyway, the difference between those two has blurred. I am quite certain, that with no manipulation, needing only prosecutors and judges who are strictly Constitutionally based, many politicians in power today could be arrested and charged with... more crimes than what a plea bargain could help them.

This group is making more laws than they understand, putting teeth in the laws in ways that are not fully understood, and creating a police state that makes every one of us a criminal. Just for being a veteran, for example, many of us are being scrutinized by the federal government. Those of us who are conservative on top of that? I wonder how large my file is now?

Further, these same politicians are destroying our economy, have disabled our schools from low to high, are neutering our military in a time of war, are encouraging our national enemies while stymieing our allies (what of those actually still exist), are destroying access and use of what our nation needs to be competitive, and are calling it all good. And to be honest, the "opposition" is both weak at best and fraudulent as a usual. We, as a people, do not have a representative government anymore.

I do not know, with absolute certainty, how bad it is or how close we are to the brink or even if we are over the tipping point. However, I do know this same situation sounds a lot like the situation that brought about the very celebration we are having today. Go ahead, have a hot dog, hamburger, steak, ribs, coleslaw, potato salad, beer, juice, water, milk, or such. Yack it up with the dudes and dudettes you know and love. Watch fireworks and light them yourself. Enjoy the day, the sun, the breeze, the chatter. But never forget why we celebrate or how thin what we celebrate has become. Think, man. This is, or was, your country. If you want to keep it, or regain it, it will be no easier, or freer, to do today than it was back when.

Cheers!