July 4th

I wasn't going to post today, but Kim is depressed over the state of the union, and he started me thinking. With all that is wrong with the US today, we are the last great hope of the world. More importantly, we are bringing hope today to millions of people.

This country is based on the idea that if enough people see something wrong, we can correct the way we live. This country is based on individual freedom and today I am going to give thanks that I live in a country that we can make and remake on a daily basis. That honored banner has waved over heros and cowards, towering virtue and cowering criminality. It continues to wave because we argue and shout and make mistakes and get it right.

I was told once by a Russian general that the reason Americans are so successful in battle is that war is chaos, and Americans practice chaos on a daily basis. Our government is based on chaos, from the Congress to the local School Board, we argue and squabble and rise and fall but in the end of the day we normally get it right.

Politically we are unpredictable, argumentative, and volatile. We're a noisy bunch. But yet, in the end, we belive in individual freedom. For that, I give thanks.

I think that we are weathering dangerous times in this country, for many of the reasons Kim cites in his post above. I also believe that the tide is turning, that we are recognizing the problems and are damned tired of them. I think that we need to focus some of our energy on the internal problems of the United States, while we continue the tempo of battle against our enemies.

These are indeed times that try mens souls.

This morning I am going to hang out with my lady till she goes in to work later today. She is a Registered Nurse, and people need her help regardless of the day of the week, or whatever holiday we are currently celebrating. I am a cop, and for years worked the same way. I give thanks for her, because she understands that bleeding and tragedy don't stop so that we can spend time together.

After she leaves for work, I am going to fire up the barbeque pit and cook for my grandsons. There was a time when they lived far away, and now they live in single digit miles from me. For being a presence in my grandson's lives, I give thanks.

After dark, I am going to light up the sky in a personal show. We live in a country where a man on his own land can expend ordinance. With each firework expended I will give thanks that I live where I do. Then, after the grandsons are gone home and the barbeque is eaten and the fireworks are gone, I will fill a highball glass with ice cubes and bourbon and go out among the stars, where I will remember absent friends and give thanks that they lived so that I might enjoy this country.