Independence Day

I have the next four days off thanks to a weekend followed by a national holiday. Everyone around me has been talking about the "Fourth of July". That is what everyone calls it. When did this happen? If I recall, it is actually called "Independence Day". The Fourth of July is just a date on the Gregorian calendar.

I like the idea of an Independence Day. Independence is a great idea. This year marks the 230th anniversary of the day when a bunch of people decided rather than just shooting at and generally trying to sabotage imperial rule, they would sit down and write a long list of reasons why they were doing this and declare a solid goal of independence. The Declaration of Independence laid the ground work for ink on paper being the primary force of the new nation, giving birth to the world's first great bureaucracy. Ever since it has been proven that the pen is truly mightier than the sword, especially when wielded by a politician during a time of national crisis. Just think, America has been doing this for 230 years. When things need doing, the United States knows that the thing to do is gather together a committee and write up a piece of paper that states what is going on, how people feel about it, and what should probably be done about it. They know how to phrase it, debate it, amend it, deliberate on it, vote on it, file it, duplicate it, circulate it, and archive it. It is true that the battle between the colonists and the British had been going on for some years before July 4th, 1776 Gregorian. But from that day forward it was official because it was written down!

Happy Independence Day! Let's all celebrate in the style of our fore-fathers; by getting drunk and blowing shit up. Oh, and don't forget to write about it before hand so it can be official.