For the first time in several years, I had the night of the 4th off, and could watch the fireworks with Kathe. In the intervening years, Kathe has found a good place for watching the show, on Monroe Avenue between 9th and 10th. Ten blocks from the riverfront, where thousands gather, but close enough to get a good view, with the added benefit of being well-placed to catch the echoes coming back toward the river.
Two things I've seen online touch my heart this 4th of July. One was an abominable caricature of the Statue of Liberty, holding a cross instead of a torch, erected by the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church in Memphis, Tennessee.
It's hard to put into words my revulsion at the sight of that blasphemous statue. To replace the Torch of Liberty, enlightening the world with no exceptions, with a cross, barring the door to all but the religiously correct, is simply obscene.
The other thing is something vastly better: an essay by Saoba (from a link posted by Supergee) on why she damn well does celebrate the Fourth, no matter what kind of incompetent louse happens to be President.
Thank you, Saoba. You do my heart good. You make me feel as though maybe this experiment we are living in has not yet failed completely.
//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Answer not yet clear."\\
2 comments:
call me oldschool, but i celebrate the 2nd. that's when all the important stuff happened, afterall.
That seems like an affectation to me. The date is arbitrary anyway. Why not observe the anniversary of the surrender at Yorktown, or the signing of the Treaty of 1783, or the ratification of the Constitution, or the inauguration of the new government in 1789?
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