Fourth of July

-
Yesterday a friend of mine posted in his blog about how wonderful the Fourth of July is, how the United States is the greatest country in the world, the only place that provides ‘the good life”.

If I had not seen his post about how we should not legalize recreational marijuana, I would ask him what he’s been smoking.  His personal circumstances suggest that he’s not living “the good life”, at least, not in the way his parents did ...

I love my country.  But I realize the United States is far from perfect.  Even before the disaster of 2016, we were falling behind the rest of the civilized world.

Have we lost our ideals?  Or just the energy to turn those ideals into reality?

When I go to a baseball game, and I hear our national anthem, I find myself in tears — tears of pride in all we have accomplished, tears of sorrow at our failures, and tears of fear, as I watch the fabric of our democracy unravel.

When I was admitted to the bar, I stood in a courtroom,raised my right hand, and swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

And I will continue to do so.

But it’s becoming so hard...

Comments

  1. GrazonaJuly 4, 2018 at 9:16 AM

    I haven't read any of your other posts, but this one feels like the start of something quite powerful. I'd love to know more about your last couple of lines. I can only imagine the challenges of someone working in law or government in our current culture.

    ReplyDelete
  2. bookwormJuly 4, 2018 at 10:30 AM

    I agree with Grazona. I think there's a lot you've let unsaid (and, as someone who also leaves things unsaid, I shouldn't ask, but, if professional ethics permit, I'd love to hear some of those stories during the UBC.) Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Gratitude GuruJuly 4, 2018 at 10:42 AM

    I just commented on this elsewhere.

    We do live in a great country (the USA) and we are still young. We have come a long way, and still, we have a long path in front of us.

    At this point in time, I think we are divided due to circumstances and that needs to stop. We are like the wild, angry, relentless, bold, daring, untethered, reckless, and determined teenager. We will grow up as a nation.

    First and foremost, I would like to see Civility rise to the top of the To Do list for us.

    Thanks for letting me get that off my chest :-)

    Happy 4th of July!
    Paul
    <a href="https://DigitalMaestro.com>Digital Maestro</a>

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cerebrations.bizJuly 4, 2018 at 10:57 AM

    So, it's left to us to work hard to make the American Dream real again. To help recover the ideals and goals of our nation- and make them real, not slogans.

    ReplyDelete
  5. peppylady (Dora)July 4, 2018 at 12:11 PM

    I don't think for me personally I would use the term "I love my country" but I want what is best for the American People.
    I wish I had an answer for why we became the "Divided States Of America" and what we need to do as people and once become the "United States of America"
    Coffee is on

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownJuly 4, 2018 at 4:07 PM

    I'm like some of the others that commented, would love to read more on the last few lines during the UBC. Great post

    ReplyDelete
  7. Liz A.July 4, 2018 at 6:44 PM

    I want to believe that right now we're going through a wake up call. So many bad things have simmered under the surface for so long--so many things that we didn't realize were still there. Now they've been brought out into the light so we can look at it. And some people are enjoying that their ugliness is finally recognized (as they don't realize that what they're enjoying is ugly).

    This is the part of the house cleaning where you see what needs to be cleaned. Now our job is to clean it out. Even though there are so many people who are clinging to that ratty old chair. They want to keep the chair, but we know there are better chairs out there.

    And my biggest hope is that after this time, people will never allow such evil things to happen again.

    ReplyDelete
  8. songbird's crazy worldJuly 5, 2018 at 9:36 AM

    I like your attitude, Liz.

    I'm semi-involved in several activist organizations. It's going to be a busy year.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It’s all coming back to me now

-
 So you should know that I am not a “shopper”.  I live in shopping mall heaven — I’m ten minutes from the Broadway Mall,  15 from Roosevelt Field and 25 from Whitman Shoppes — but I seldom go to the mall.  I prefer to shop on line.  And when I do venture into a store, I usually know what I want and buy it as quickly as possible.  I’m not one to browse through stores just to see what’s for sale. There’s a local chain,  Baked By Melissa , that specializes in mini cupcakes.  They’re primarily in Manhattan.  A few years ago Becca introduced me to their product - delicate little cakes, exquisitely decorated, very tasty.  I walk past their shop on 7th Avenue whenever we go to the theater. Well, last week I remembered that they used to have a second shop on 7th, right next to the original shop, but selling gluten-free versions of all their cupcakes. The gluten-free shop closed, but the company continues to make a gluten-free version of their product. So I thought that gluten-free cupcakes wou
Read more

Music Monday

-
Image
Another “your choice” week. How about new music from icons of the 60’s and 70’s? Let’s start with Jimmy Buffett’s posthumous hit, “Bubbles Up”. The Rolling Stones released a new song in 2023, it’s called “Angry”. The surviving Beatles (with some  help from AI) released “Now and Then”. And then Billy Joel …    The AI effects in the video blew me away… A note about the AI effects … the Beatles used it to isolate John’s vocals on an old demo.  Billy Joel had a young man play the piano then superimposed his own face onto the image of the younger man.   
Read more

Ultimate Blog Party!!!!

-
Image
thanks to suzanne , I decided to join the party. I got into blogging last year because of Suzanne. I've known her on message boards for awhile, but I've gotten to know her much better since entering the blogosphere. I've also met several others whose blogs I am starting to love, and look forward to meeting even more bloggers now that I've joined the party. So I guess that means I have to introduce myself. I am a single mom from Long Island. My older daughter, Jen, is a college freshman, going to school in New England. Younger daughter, Becca, is a high school junior. I am also an attorney with an insurance company, with offices in Jersey City, NJ, a really "wonderful" commute. I sit on the board of trustees at my synagogue (which means I do a lot of volunteer work there!), and I am active in various fundraisers for the American Cancer Society, currently planning for this year's Relay for Life. I like ot take photos, so you'll see many of them in
Read more