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July 4 is a Time to Celebrate, Not Denigrate, the U.S.A. and its Birth | Commentary
The Fourth of July is upon us. You'll understand if Uncle Sam doesn't feel like celebrating. The way things are going, a protester will pop out of America's birthday cake and try to spray-paint his beard.
It’s as if there are M-80s packed with craziness exploding all around.
Boom — The Democratic Party Twitter account labeled Donald Trump’s visit to Mount Rushmore a “rally glorifying white supremacy.” I get that it’s Trump, but whoever thought Abraham Lincoln would be linked to the white supremacist movement?
Boom — U.S. Soccer just repealed its policy requiring players to stand respectfully during “The Star-Spangled Banner.” There are calls to replace that song with John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
Boom — The Seattle City Council voted to eliminate July 4th from the calendar and simply skip from July 3rd to the 5th.
I’m kidding about the last one, though at this point who’d be shocked if it were true? America is suffering an identity crisis based on a scrambled view of the past.
No doubt, we’ve had some horrific moral failures. But anyone who truly understands America’s history wouldn’t want to erase it. He or she would want to honor it.
So at the risk of interrupting the national guilt trip, allow me to list just a small portion of things that make America's 244th birthday worth celebrating.
The @DNC on Monday attacked the planned Fourth of July celebration at Mount Rushmore as "a rally glorifying white supremacy" in a now-deleted tweet. https://t.co/fg4bDq7IQH
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) June 30, 2020
Freedom of Speech…. The Golden Spike…. The Underground Railroad…. Waffle House…. Watching rockets take off from Cape Canaveral….
“Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!”…. The Grand Canyon…. Jonas Salk…. Times Square…. Huckleberry Finn….
The Corvette…. The worst police force in America is 100 times better than the “security” force in Seattle's CHOP zone…. Charlie Brown…. The Hollywood Walk of Fame….
Family Guy…. For better or worse, anyone can become president…. My Pillow…. Elvis…. “Four score and seven years ago,”….
Legal immigration, which brought us the brilliance of Nikola Tesla, Levi Strauss, Elon Musk, Alex Trebek and countless other naturalized citizens….
New Orleans…. The National Park Service…. Self-determination…. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show…. Clint Eastwood…. The Women's Suffrage Movement….
The 364,511 Americans who gave their lives to defeat slavery in the Civil War…. The 1.2 million military members who died fighting in the deserts, mountains and jungles around the world since 1776….
And as Colin Powell said when asked about supposed U.S. imperialism, “We have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in.”….
Jesse Owens…. Crocs…. The Golden Gate Bridge…. Freedom of Religion…. “One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Mankind”….
The Three-Fifths Compromise (if you understand it, you’ll cut the Founding Fathers a break)…. Forrest Gump…. Harley Davidson…. The Electoral College…. Richard Pryor…. We’ve voluntarily bowed to only one Prince, and he partied like it was 1999….
“I Love Lucy”…. The fact that, with less than 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. is responsible for nearly 23% of global economic output….
The Wright Brothers…. Alexander Graham Bell…. Americans have invented a zillion things, like the light bulb, the internet, the microwave popcorn, jazz, the television, the Pocket Fisherman, Indiana Jones…..
“I Have A Dream”…. Chinatown…. Motown…. Montgomery, and the fact the capital of the Confederacy now has a Black mayor….
SEAL Team Six…. The Kentucky Derby…. 385 Nobel Laureates, almost triple that of any other country…. John Wayne…. Due process….
The Salvation Army…. The Cadillac Ranch…. Larry David…. The Model T assembly line…. Secretariat…. The Miracle on Ice….
The what?
In case you’ve forgotten, or YouTube has censored the video, the U.S. Olympic hockey team upset the U.S.S.R. and went on to win the gold medal in 1980. If it happened in 2020, the Woke Police would demand players take a knee during the national anthem.
I can’t help thinking of a few exiled Olympic athletes from Iraq I met in 2003. They were living in San Diego and recounted their days representing a country run by Saddam Hussein.
They were expected to be loyal to the flag, the ruler and the system. Failure was not an option.
They told me of teammates being dragged on concrete, then dunked in a sewage tank to make sure their wounds would become infected. They recalled soccer players being forced to kick a concrete ball after losing a match.
They showed me their bullet and stab wounds. They anguished for their native land, but they relished the taste of their new one.
It was, as one put it, “the flavor of freedom.”
We wouldn't have it if not for men like Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the revolutionary document delivered to King George III 244 years ago.
Our forefathers formed a “more perfect union,” not a flawless one. They knew it would be a work in progress, and it still is.
But nowhere else are people as free to think, create, evolve, chase their dreams and follow their consciences.
So by all means, boycott America's birthday party if you wish.
Like my friends from Iraq, I’m going to celebrate and not feel the least bit guilty about it.
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