American Independence

1. 
   Happy 230th birthday, America - you don't look a day over 205!
   
   I have so many things rolling around in my head today about Independence Day and what it means in the post-modern world.
   
   My good buddy K-Nine over at Dead Dog Walkin' is thinking along the same lines I am in many respects.
   
   But beyond that, where do we go with our young republic from here? and yes, it is a young republic - 230 years is not a huge amount of time, speaking in historical terms.
   
   The general view among the intelligentsia is that maybe America is an idea whose time has come and gone. That somehow the principles on which the country was founded are now bankrupt, in some way.
   
   Oh, everyone hates us, they say. We are just a big bully, a big baby of a nation-state, throwing temper tantrums in Afghanistan and Iraq.
   
   To many of the same intelligentsia, we are some kind of nouveau-riche, Beverly Hillbillies-esque crasher at the table of nations. We hit the Powerball of nation-building and now have decorated our million-dollar Palm Beach mansion with polyester curtains, redwood decks, and crystal Elvis replicas.
   
   Or more relevant to today's discussion, we are a sub-continent-sized Wal-Mart, bullying our way in where we aren't wanted and bringing short-term gains in exchange for selling our souls in the long term.
   
   Well, in the words of Col. Sherman T. Potter of M*A*S*H fame, "Horse Hockey!"
   
   Let's get a few things straight:
   
   1. This country is the greatest experiment in representational democracy ever attempted. Period.
   2. As mentioned before, we are a young republic; yet, in our short time on this Earth, our nation has, among many other things:
   * Ended slavery in the western hemisphere;
   * Fought tyranny on our own shores and abroad;
   * Stopped one of the most formidible forces of evil known to man in the form of Adolf Hitler;
   * Ended Japanese imperialism and oppression;
   * Salvaged war-torn Europe and Japan;
   * Outlasted genocidal Communist dictators;
   * Fed countless starving people in the third world;
   * Cured polio, transplanted hearts, and touched the moon and the stars.
   
   And we did all these things with our own blood and our own money. We walked the walk and takled the talk.
   
   Are we blameless? Certainly not. We have our issues; some solved, others not. But if you want to wear the crown, you have to bear the cross. Like it or not, we are the best game in town. Economically, socially, politically. Like the Clampetts, who may have been socially inept or bumbling, you know at the end of the day, they meant well.
   
   Someone mentioned how much the world hates us. Fine. So here's what we do: pull out of the world. Disengage. Iraq, you're on your own. Kenya, time to feed yourself. UN, find some place else to call home. India, Pakistan? Good luck with that nuclear thing. AIDS research? Well, we'll be doing it here, of course, but if we actually find something, well, you know, you all hate us.
   
   Let France and Germany start feeding the world. Let England and Canada take the lead in medical research. Let Russia broker the peace in the Middle East. We're out.
   
   No, we can't do that, can we. I guess that makes us like Wal-Mart: half the town can't wait for Wal-Mart to get there, the other half is fighting like hell to keep them out. When they get there, they'll cause some problems, but they'll also do a lot of good. And ultimately the people who fought to keep them out will realize that they can go into Wal-Mart at 3 AM and buy a pack of underwear for $10 that is available at a local store down the street for $15 but that store is only open from 10-6 Monday through Saturday. So while that person will gripe and complain about how we should be patronizing the little guy, ultimately the protestor will give in and realize that his little town is better for having Wal-Mart there.
   
   And so it goes with this little country we like to call America. Happy Birthday. Thanks John Hancock and the boys for their guts 230 years ago. Thanks to my great-grandfather, who fought in the War to End All Wars, and to my grandfather, who fought in the war after that, and to my father, who was in Da Nang for Tet, 1968. Thanks to them for ensuring I didn't have to go fight, and thanks to all who are continuing to ensure the best thing going keeps going.
   
   Happy Birthday, indeed.