July 4th 2007

I can’t think of a better day to start my new Blog, A View from the Crossroads, than the 4^th of July.  I am a pretty liberal guy who has spent his entire life in a very conservative state.   This has forced me to see the middle ground in most situations.  So, my hope for this blog is to discuss the real issues we’re facing as Americans and get beyond the spin of the polemics.  Sorry Sean, Rush, Rosie, and Michael.  

Today is the 4^th of July and I’m sure that just like me the one thing that comes to mind for all of you is Bill Pullman as President of the United States giving one of the corniest, yet moving speeches in Hollywood history.

“We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: “We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight!” We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!” 

You feel it right?  That lump in your throat.  Maybe even a little moisture around your eyes.  Damn fine speech.  We are Americans dammit and we are better than we have been acting for the past many years.  The time is coming that we must start paying attention to what is “really” going on or we WILL go into the night!  Quietly or not. 

For most of us the 4^th of July really has very little to do with battling Space Aliens and much more to do with a day off from work, cookouts with friends and family, and blowing things up.  I spent much of the day like I do other holidays – glued to the Food network and the History channel.  So, that’s how they came up with the idea for Lemon Drops?  Fascinating!  Two hours of the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest?  I’m there dude!!  

The highlight of my nerd-fest TV viewing today was a special the History Channel ran on Benjamin Franklin.  I had absolutely no idea that ol’ Ben was such a “playa” and that if it wasn’t for his way with the ladies that we would probably still be drinking gads of tea and eating crumpets.  Franklin, of course, had the unenviable task of trying to convince the French King to support our rag-tag efforts to over throw another king.  Thanks to Ben’s charisma and witty ways with the French bourgeois class (especially the ladies) he was able to get the French King to agree to help us fight England.  John Adams was in France as well, but he was much more the nerd of the American Revolution.  While Franklin said he learned French while “lounging on the pillows of his French mistresses.”  Adams was reading French funeral oratory.  What a geek. Thank God Franklin was there to make sure that this new country, The United States of America, didn’t receive a huge wedgie from the French or English. 

Here’s hoping that all of you had a great day and that you thought about, if even briefly, what our founding fathers where hoping to create in this new nation.