Friday, July 4, 2008

Don't celebrate the fourth of July


You read it right. There is to be no celebration of the fourth this year. That means no barbecues, no fireworks, no get togethers, no beer, no alcohol, no taking off work (get back there if you're off) and certainly absolutely no reenactments of moments like in the picture you see. America, today, is so fraught with sin and decay that to celebrate the fourth is tantamount to the ultimate hypocrisy! Such, however, is not my opinion. But Chris Satullo, of the Philadelphia Inquirer believes this very premise. You can read the article here. http//www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20080701_Chris_Satullo__A_not-so-glorious_Fourth.html
Mr. Satullo is so disgusted by this country's foreign policies, particularly with regards to the war on terror, that he will not celebrate the fourth this year and neither should you. He says that the founding fathers, essentially, would be rolling over in their graves if they were here. Such behavior, he argues, is not consistent with the principles of the Republic, but with the tyrants of Europe from whom we broke away. He puts the ultimate blame on the regular citizen saying we are too wrapped up in American Idol and soccer practice for our kids that we dare not or just simply don't speak out against what is wrong.
I believe that Mr. Satullo does have a point about complacency and apathy in this country especially when it comes to politics. But he overlooks the fact, yes, the fact, that we can spend so much time dealing with our kids, soccer practice, our credit card debts and even American Idol because we have the freedom to do so. This is not a totolitarian regime. Does that mean we should ignore the excesses and questionable acts of our government? No, we shouldn't. In fact, some would argue that the freedeom we have to enjoy the above things is only given to allow for a slower and more unnoticed transition to totalitarianism, which, I believe can come.
But Mr. Satullo commits the cardinal fallacy in his whole argument. He is equating our country with its current leader(s). Our leaders come and go. In fact, to borrow from Robert Wuhl, horrible presidents are as American as apple pie. We've had so many bad presidents! And you know what? We'll get through it. History has yet to make its final judgment on this current time and who knows what it will be?
Perfection is hard. Just ask me and I'm a perfectionist! The Constitution (which I know was not signed on this day, but in 1789) says in its preamble "...in order to form a more perfect union... do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." First of all, never mind that more perfect is a non sequitur. You're either perfect or you're not. I fail to see how one person is more perfect or less perfect than another. But even the Founding Fathers, whom Mr. Satullo invokes as his patron saints of decency, even knew and understood that this country was going to be subject to the passions of man. That's why they went out of their way to establish checks and balances, which, unfortunately, have been blurred and skewed at this point (that's another post for another day).
I'm not trying to dismiss atrocities against anyone. The war on terror has certainly caused many arguments and discussions as to what is right and wrong in wartime and peacetime. But, we endured four years of bloody civil war and the fourth was still celebrated (both in the North and the South!). John Adams passed the sedition acts to jail people who spoke up against his presidency and we still celebrated the fourth. We celebratd the fourth even while FDR locked up men and women and children of Japanese descent. We celebrated in the wake of the Kennedy assassination. In other words, this country has always been and always will be (God willing) more than its current administration.
I suspect that Mr. Satullo's angst is not so much about what is right and wrong, but more due to his absolute vitriolic hatred of the president. You can disagree with the president, call him wrong, call him a bad president, even a horrible president, but, many members of the traditional media are so blinded by their bloodlust against him. Why? Probably because it shows that their influence is dwindling and they failed to deliver the presidency to Al Gore in 2000 and to John Kerry in 2004. I think it's a self-hatred that they then pass on to someone else. I believe the psychological term is transference (Katie correct me on that one, please).
So this year, celebrate the fourth and do take some time to realize that the dream of "more perfect" has yet to be realized, but it still can!

2 comments:

soonerfaninks said...

fyi: Linky no Worky.

Chris said...

Try the link now!