Wednesday Weigh-In – Independence Day Interrupted

I declared my independence from sticking to my blog schedule due to the holiday this week, but the glorious number of 216.8 keeps coming up on my scale like it knows nothing else.

Honestly, at one point I was down to 213, but I think after five days of drinking about 3-gallons of water each day, my body might be retaining some fluid. We'll see how things go when everything balances out to be a bit more normal. And I mean everything. Whoa - Buffalo almost hit 100F for the first time ever this week. We've been in the 90F range for a week, and no rain to be had. That's not normal.I changed job, and my schedule is out of whack. I had a muscle pull or something in my right shoulder, and neck - maybe stress related. Summer schedule change happened right at the same time as I started my new job. Everything has my schedule off track it seems like. And then a holiday on a Wednesday? What is that crap?

I'll get back on track this weekend after the big show, and my daughter's grad party.

Let's dive into Independence Day for a minute. Aside from being a pretty hokey, yet in its own way, kick-ass film, the REAL Independence Day has always been somewhat of a conundrum to me. Was British "totalitarianism" really that bad? Or did the colonists just see the future of where it could go, and decide the time was right to say they wanted no part of it? Was it just a bunch of rich people conning the poor people into fighting for a freedom they already had, in hopes of gaining more wealth, and power for themselves, or was it truly necessary to break the binds that tie for the survival, and prosperity of all people in the colonies?

Whatever the reason, our nation celebrates the day the Declaration of Independence was signed as being the birth of the nation, even though it was years before the war was won, and even longer until our current Constitution was ratified. Democracy, and the promise of being a truly free nation though? Have we ever truly had it? From slavery, and the nation having to fight a bloody war to end it, and it still almost not ending despite that war, to the genocide of the native people who inhabited, and owned the physical land the nation occupies, to the mistreatment of immigrants, the indentured servitude of Asian immigrants, the internment camps we put Japanese Americans in, to taking lands from Mexico, to the near slavery conditions experienced by Irish immigrants, to our current wave of mistreatment of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers... maybe we need to ask ourselves, what exactly is Democracy, and the Freedom we tout an almost patented ownership on?

And while what I just said would be interpreted as "unpatriotic" by about 35-40% of Americans, those same Americans herald Independence Day as a heroes' day, when the weak stood up to the strong, and demanded their freedom. But didn't that start with examination, and questioning? Doesn't every revolution begin with looking at the power structures that exist, finding how they can be better, and demanding that change? What if King George read the Declaration of Independence, and said, "You know, you guys are right. We'll repeal the taxes, give you Parliamentary representation, and treat you as an equal in the commonwealth." Would a fight have been justified? When is it decided that a revolution is justified? What about those who felt that the revolution wasn't justified?

There are those lingering questions even today. Oddly, with the Presidential election of 2016, but the conservative side, and the liberal side wanted change. The Democratic party forced the same'ol, and the Republican party nominated a huckster who promised... well, nothing tangible, and mostly nonsense. The nonsense won. In its own way, that is how revolution in a democracy should work, but in the same sense, it's also proof of a broken system that panders to the wealthy elite, which in almost 100% of revolutions in history is exactly who the revolutionists fought against.

I won't go deeper into this. There's too much. Maybe I can video blog this, but here is my breakdown:

If you're going to celebrate Independence Day, you're truly celebrating the principles that drove our nation to independence, which are all very well outlined in the Declaration, and the Constitution. You're celebrating the idea that if your government isn't truly working on behalf of all of its citizens, changes are necessary. Replacing the government is necessary, and should happen when necessary.

You're also celebrating the individual right to state such things, and question what the government is doing. Patriotism isn't blind flag waving, fireworks, standing for anthems, and shouting rah-rah about an entity with imaginary borders on a round planet. Understanding that is a big part of Independence Day.