But, irony being what it is, she probably deserves props.
Perusing Facebook this morning, a daily ritual that , for many of us, ranks right up there with the ingestion of coffee, the intake of fiber, the brushing of teeth and the emptying of bladder and/or colon, I realized that despite the inevitable flow of Independence Day good wishes, including, but not limited to, pictures of patriotically decorated homes, various and sundry foods that will be, or have already partially been, consumed and, of course, the obligatory "adorable is in the eye of the beholder" shots of the family pet afflicted with their owner's idea of what constitutes appropriate July 4th animal accessorizing, there were, plentifully, and predictably, posted, the usual offerings of political jabbing, dogmatic demonizing and/or philosophical posturing on all things jabbable, demonizable and/or posturable.
And it occurred to me that, perhaps, taking a page from the attitude adjustment manual that we all like to profess reading during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, we might all just put the fangs back in our face, box up the barbs and/or take a breather from berating and/or bitchslapping each other around our respective Beltways and, if only for a day, agree to agree on what we should all reasonably see as what's good about living in Uncle Sam's hood.
To wit...
On this fourth day of July, in the year 2013....
...we are free to go where we want....even if where you want to go makes you seem a little strange, while where I want to go clearly makes me normal...
...we are free to say what we want...even if what you say clearly defines you as an idiot, while what I say makes it clear that I am lucid, thoughtful and perceptive...
...we are free to choose how fast our vehicle will travel...even if the speed you drive is clearly maniacally reckless while the speed I drive is thoughtful and courteous...
...we are free to wear whatever we choose....even if what you wear is either hopelessly out of fashion or is best suited to those standing in line at the local Wal Mart while what I wear displays both a laser like grasp of good taste and a kicky, fun, free stylin spirit of adventure and non conformity...
...we are free to own a weapon of our choosing...although your need to proudly display the AR-15 on the family room wall leaves you open to reasonable suspicions of compensation for less than prodigious genitalia while my safely locked Glock indicates a cool, calm and conscientious combination of common sense and constitutional interpretation...
...we are free to openly voice our opinion of our government and those who inhabit it....even if your allegiance to the Fox News mentality is hilarious on a late night talk show level while my ability to see Ann Coulter as the Anti Christ clearly demonstrates my capacity for clarity...
....we are free to post pictures of patriotically decorated homes, various and sundry foods that will be, or have already partially been, consumed and, of course, the obligatory "adorable is in the eye of the beholder" shots of the family pet afflicted with their owner's idea of what constitutes appropriate July 4th animal accessorizing, while your need to do so shrieks your self esteem issues to the hardest of hearing while my poignant, even poetic, opines, observations and/or offerings underscore my complete understanding of contemporary culture and my intrinsic connection with all of mankind....
and...
...we are free to exhibit our insightfulness, our ignorance, our blessedness, our bigotry, our wisdom, our woefulness, our soulfulness, our selfishness, the very worst of our demons, the very best of our better angels and the very basic elements of our humanity....
Put less pompously....
We are free to be...you and me.
Title of a record album, turns out, done to inspire kids a couple of decades back.
By Marlo Thomas.
Patriotic platitudes.
From That Girl.
Only in America.
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