Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July, I suppose.  It’s the national holiday of the United States, and every country has the right to celebrate its national holiday, right?  Of course.
The problem is that the United States dominates the world, and not in a very benevolent way.  Or, to phrase that a bit differently, the U.S. dominates the world, and a handful of unscrupulous rich people dominate the U.S., and they don’t care that they are killing off all life on Earth, they don’t care if poor families are in concentration camps in horrible conditions (you cannot compare what’s happening on the Mexican border now with the Japanese internment camps.  Conditions now are way, way worse than conditions then), and they have no particular objection to starting wars in which thousands, hundreds of thousands, or maybe even millions of people die, as long as they make money.
So, there’s a bit of hesitance to wave that flag, to say how proud you are of the country that put an end to monarchy, invented the light bulb and the telephone, fought on the correct side in WWII, gave the world not only rock and roll but also the Blues, Gospel music, Bluegrass, and Jazz, and landed on the moon, with a little help from Nazi scientists.
It’s a two-sided thing, of course, as is everything, but for those who are enjoying their cookouts and fireworks, by all means, go ahead and enjoy.  There is still a lot of good amid the bad, and tomorrow is another opportunity to change things for the better.  Don’t ever give up on that.