I was going to put this in the Happy Independence Day thread, but I think it is really extraordinary, and deserves a spotlight of its own. Considering how bleak the world looked last July 4th, and it was deeply uncertain what this July 4th would look like, I think an extra level of celebration is warranted.

This is a letter to the mailbag for a political poll and news analysis site that has run since 2004 completely paywall and advertising free, as a public service. I have met the webmaster, not through the site, but because he is a well-known computer science professor.

https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2021/Pres/Maps/Jul04.html#item-1

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We're going to lead today with the longest letter we've ever run. We think that is apropos; you'll see why in about two seconds.

This Land Is Your Land, and This Land Is My Land

J.B. in Hutto, TX, writes: Seeing this week's Mailbag falls on Independence Day, I thought it might be refreshing for you and your readership to have a dose of thoughtful patriotism rather than the knee-jerk jingoism we are so often force-fed on this day. Therefore, without further ado, allow me to describe what it is that I love about America.

I love the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. I love the Federalist Papers, the Anti-Federalist Papers, and the hundreds of beautiful letters that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams wrote to one another in retirement. I love the journals of Lewis and Clark and the diary of John Quincy Adams. I love the Declaration of Sentiments—the founding document of the women's rights movement, written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I love Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address. I love the Thirteenth and Nineteenth Amendments. I love the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King. I love FDR's "Four Freedoms" speech, JFK's speech at Rice University in which he declared that America would to go to the Moon, MLK's "I Have A Dream" speech, Barbara Jordan's speech in defense of the Constitution during the Watergate hearings, and the 1987 speech in which Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. As ironic as it might seem today, I love Frederick Douglass's speech "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?"

I love Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Harper Lee, Louisa May Alcott and Tomas Rivera, Edgar Allan Poe and Claude McKay. I love the poetry of Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Phillis Wheatley, Robert Frost, and Maya Angelou. I love the history books and biographies of David McCullough. I love "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave," "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau, "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck, "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac, and "The Autobiography of Malcolm X." They are all part of the same story.

I love the American flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the old-fashioned patriotic songs sung by children's choirs. I love the Statue of Liberty (thanks, France!) and the Liberty Bell. I love bald eagles and American bison. I love Mount Vernon and Monticello, not only as living tributes to great men but as reminders of the reality of slavery in our nation's story. I love the monuments and memorials around the National Mall in Washington D.C. I love the Alamo. I love the monument to the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in Boston. I love St. John's Church in Richmond, where Patrick Henry asked that he be given either liberty or death. I love the Old North Church in Boston, where two lanterns were once hung to signal riders that the British were coming by sea. I love Emanuel Leutze's painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware," with its subtle inclusion of a Black man, a woman, an immigrant, and an American Indian. I love the USS Constitution—"Old Ironsides"—launched in 1797, bloodied in battles against the British and the Barbary Pirates, and still officially a commissioned warship in the United States Navy today. I love the American Battle Monuments Commission, which carefully maintains dozens of national cemeteries around the world where tens of thousands of our fallen warriors rest in peace.

I love the Space Needle in Seattle and the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center in New York City. I love the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. I love the Art Deco architecture of Miami and the Spanish colonial architecture of Santa Fe. I love the Golden Gate Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, and all the thousands of small bridges one passes over while driving the back roads of our vast nation.

I love the cultural institutions of New York City: the Met Opera, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Hayden Planetarium, and the musicals of Broadway. I love the museums of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.: the National Air and Space Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the National Museum of American History. I love the Boston Aquarium, the San Diego Zoo, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, and Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History. I love the Library of Congress and all the presidential libraries. I love Ellis Island, through which uncounted thousands of immigrants (including my own ancestors, in 1906) passed through to become Americans, their eyes sparkling with dreams of freedom and a better life for themselves and their children.

I love the National Parks: Yellowstone, the Everglades, Yosemite, Acadia, Bryce Canyon, and all the rest. I love Carlsbad Caverns and Mammoth Cave. I love the haunting stillness one can feel amid the ancient cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park and Bandelier National Monument. I love the way the wind howls through "The Window" at Big Bend National Park. I love the national battlefields: Saratoga, Yorktown, Antietam, Gettysburg, and all the rest. I love the carefully preserved homes of historical figures and sites of historical events. I love the Stonewall National Monument, the site where the gay rights movement began in 1969, and the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, New York, the site where the women's rights movement began in 1848.

I love NASA. I love the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, and the adorable little Ingenuity helicopter, that are exploring the surface of Mars. I love the Juno probe currently in orbit around Jupiter, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in orbit around the Moon (though it could have had a better name), and the plucky little New Horizons spacecraft that flew past Pluto back in 2015 and is now sailing on into the Kuiper Belt. I love the two Voyager probes, still sending back data decades after being launched and embarking on their lonely journey into the vastness of the Milky Way Galaxy. I love the beautiful photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and the scientific information sent back by Galileo from Jupiter, Cassini from Saturn, Magellan from Venus, and dozens of other amazing missions throughout the Solar System. I love the fact that the United States was the first nation to land human beings on the surface of another world. I love that, in the otherwise dark year of 2020, the United States regained the ability to launch human beings into space.

I love Texas barbecue more than words can express, but I'm willing to admit that the folks in Kansas City, Memphis, and the Carolinas make some pretty good stuff, too. I love well-made cheeseburgers. I love the breakfast tacos of Austin and San Antonio. I love locally brewed beer and locally distilled whiskey. I love the overpriced hot dogs and pretzels served at baseball stadiums. I love corny dogs at the Texas State Fair. I love the cabernet sauvignons of Napa and Sonoma County, the tempranillos of the Texas Hill Country, and the pinot noirs of Oregon and Washington, proof that Thomas Jefferson was right when he said America could produce wines as good as those of Europe. I love pizza from Brooklyn and clam chowder from Massachusetts. I love cheddar cheese from Vermont and colby cheese from Wisconsin. I love Native American frybread.

I love drinking a good hurricane at Pat O'Brien's Bar in New Orleans. I love the Steak Dunigan made at the Pink Adobe restaurant in Santa Fe. I love the chili half-smokes at Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington D.C. I love the fresh shrimp at Singleton's Seafood Shack in Mayport, Florida. I love lobsters from Maine and oysters from Apalachicola in the Florida panhandle. I love Boston cream pie and I love s'mores around the campfire. I love Kentucky bourbon. I love the grits, catfish, fried okra, and pecan pie of the South. I love chimichangas at Tex-Mex restaurants. I love Jewish delis in New York City. I love kolache festivals in small towns that have strong Czech heritages. I love coffee, bacon, eggs, and hash browns served at dingy highway diners by sarcastic old waitresses who reek of cigarettes. I love making dinner from ingredients purchased at farmers' markets. I love Cuban sandwiches in Florida restaurants. I love the delicious food you can enjoy in family-owned restaurants in cities and town all across this bountiful country. I love the resilience all these special places have shown in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I love the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes, the Columbia River, the Ohio River, Crater Lake, the Tennessee River, Chesapeake Bay, the Susquehanna River, and all the other rivers and bodies of water that run their courses throughout our land. I love the vast skies of the Texas Hill Country, the majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains, the palisades of the Hudson Valley in New York, the brilliant colors of the autumn leaves in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, the endless expanse of the Great Plains, the beautiful desolation of the painted deserts of the American Southwest, and the rocky seashores of New England.

I love New Orleans jazz, the blues of Memphis and Chicago, the indie rock of the Pacific Northwest, the bluegrass of the Appalachian Mountains, and the amazing music that comes out of Austin. I love the blending of Mexican and Central European elements that one can hear in Tejano music. I love country music stars singing patriotic songs. I love the singer-songwriters of the seventies. I love Creedence Clearwater Revival. I love how Jimmy Buffett can make a bad day better with a single rendition of "Margaritaville." I love the singing of James Taylor, Elvis Presley, and Bing Crosby, the guitars of B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughn, the trumpet of Miles Davis, the drums of Art Blakey, and the piano of Dave Brubeck. I love the beautiful voices of Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and Billie Holiday. I love the classical compositions of Aaron Copeland and the grand marches of John Philip Sousa. I love the haunting music that can be produced by the Native American flute.

I love Civil War reenactors and the ridiculous arguments they have with each other about brass buttons. I love independent bookstores like BookPeople in Austin, the Tattered Cover in Denver, City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, and Prairie Lights in Iowa City. I love county fairs, pumpkin festivals, and outdoor church services on Christmas and Easter. I love the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival and the Santa Fe Indian Market.

I love silly American traditions. I love presidential pardons for turkeys just before Thanksgiving. I love that the Le Pavillion Hotel in New Orleans serves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with ice-cold milk in the lobby every evening at ten o'clock. I love the singing of "Sweet Caroline" by Red Sox fans at Fenway Park in the middle of the eighth inning every game. I love the daily duck parade between the elevator and the lobby fountain at the Peabody in Memphis. I love Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. I love the different drinks and different theme songs for each of the Triple Crown horse races. I love the emergence of Punxsutawney Phil from Gobbler's Knob on Groundhog Day. I loved the Poe Toaster, wonder what happened to them, and still hope they come back.

I love crossing guards. I love little league games. I love bake sales that raise money for middle-school bands. I love family-owned businesses that have jerseys of the local high school football teams hanging on their walls. I love public libraries and PTA meetings. I love citizens complaining about potholes at city council meetings. I love local chapters of the Lions Club.

I love the mystique of the Golden Age of Hollywood: Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn, Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly. I love old Frank Capra movies, especially "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." I love the movies Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made together. I love Frank Sinatra. I love the script-writing of Aaron Sorkin, the documentaries of Ken Burns, the musicals of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the films of Steven Spielberg, and the acting of Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, and Meryl Streep. I love watching the Academy Awards. I love the Charlie Brown specials shown every Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I love PBS programs like NOVA, Masterpiece Theater, and American Experience.

I love how Congress, despite its flaws and the corruption of so many of its members, can sometimes rise to the occasion and pass legislation that dramatically changes America for the better. I love the Homestead Act, the Morrill Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act (more commonly known as the "G.I. Bill"), the National Defense Education Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act, the Higher Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and many, many others. As with Congress, so with the Supreme Court. I love Brown vs. Board of Education, Gideon vs. Wainwright, Miranda vs. Arizona, Loving vs. Virginia, and Obergefell vs. Hodges.

I love liberals, conservatives, and libertarians—all equally American. I love peaceful protesters (including athletes who choose to kneel during the playing of the national anthem), who remind us of the hard work that lies before us if our republic is to live up to its founding ideals. I love the naturalization ceremonies in which immigrants take the oath of citizenship to the United States, instantly becoming as American as anyone whose ancestors served in George Washington's army or came over on the Mayflower.

I love freedom of expression, and I don't much mind that it means that people can express opinions with which I disagree and which I might even find repugnant. I love that I can stand on any street corner and denounce any politician in the nation without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or execution. I love freedom of religion and the separation of church and state, which allow me to worship God as I choose, and I don't much mind that it means people can practice religions different from my own or choose not to practice any religion at all. I love that a person accused of even the most heinous crime imaginable will still get a lawyer and appear before a judge in the same manner as anybody else. I love that the police cannot enter my home or search my car unless they have a warrant issued by a judge. I love that I can go into a voting booth and cast my ballot for whomever I wish.

I love the men and women working hard at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the doctors and nurses in our nation's hospitals, who have been on the front line in the fight against COVID-19. I love those police officers, the vast majority, who are good and decent people doing an incredibly stressful job to keep us safe. I love firefighters and emergency medical workers who protect us every day and night. I love the teachers who work in an extraordinarily demanding job with little pay because they love children and care about the future of our republic. I love the plumbers, electricians, highway construction workers, and mechanics without whom the country would fall apart overnight. I love garbage collectors. I love that anyone in America can take a risk and start their own business.

I love the generosity of the American people. I love the volunteers who make possible the work of nonprofits like Meals on Wheels, Homes for our Troops, and Habitat for Humanity. I love church groups who cram into vans and drive to coastal towns demolished by hurricanes to bring aid and comfort to the disaster victims. I love Operation BBQ Relief, who show up in devastated regions with their grills and smokers and pass out barbecue sandwiches by the thousands to those in need of a warm meal. I love the Louisianans of the Cajun Navy, who show up in flooded regions with their boats to assist in search-and-rescue missions.

I love the men and women who have served or are serving in the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. I love the few remaining veterans of the Second World War, who fought a glorious worldwide crusade to destroy fascism. I love the grizzled old veterans of Korea and Vietnam, whose heroism and sacrifice has still never been fully appreciated. I love the Navajo Code Talkers. I love SEAL Team Six, who rid the world of Osama bin Laden's evil on an epic night in the spring of 2011. I love the 1st Battalion, 5th United States Field Artillery, formed by Alexander Hamilton in 1776 and today the oldest continuously serving unit in the United States armed forces. I love that elite group of soldiers known as the Sentinels, who maintain their lonely vigil in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier twenty-four hours a day, even amid hurricanes and blizzards, as has been done without a moment's break since 1948. I love the men and women of every battalion, every ship, and every squadron who put their lives on the line every day to protect everything we hold dear, including all I've written about in this piece.

I could go on and on and on, but I think the point I'm trying to make is pretty clear.

I love America.

V & Z respond: Bravo! Bravissimo!

Well said!

Hearty agreement from me!

Great letter.

It’s certainly true most countries of the world could create such a love letter. That’s wonderful.

It’s also amazing to think we are free to fall in love with multiple countries/cultures/languages.

Patriotism can be a good thing. Love for all mankind is always a good thing, and far far better than patriotism.

And we’re capable of having a love for all mankind while at the same time being mildly patriotic.

I love many things too about America, but I'm afraid that there is a growing majority that don't love freedom, that don't value boot straps and elbow grease, They don't like natural intelligence, and talent, they don't want inequality of outcomes, there are growing powers that are pushing for a great change, a great reset. They want to control the supply chain, The system is flawed in their view, equal laws are unjust hence crt, they want special treatment, they want to eliminate farm animals, and carbon emissions, they want to take away property (tax it until no one can pay), and they seek to disrupt the system anyway they can.

But as long as schools continue to teach why America is great, the story of the courageous men who conquered the land, manifest destiny, how to succeed, and suck it up when you feel bad instead of whining, Then we'll succeed otherwise it's down the toilet.

Macaromney: (whines all through first paragraph)

Also Macaromney: "suck it up when you feel bad instead of whining"

And no one wants to eliminate farm animals, you pinhead. You're beyond redemption.

I was going to reply but figured why bother. The maca is completely impervious to cognitive dissonance. He ignores evidence that contradicts his worldview at a level of perfection that we mortals can only dream of.

I was going to reply too but there does not appear to be anything that can top his display of selfishness.

He doesn't give a crap about animals. He doesn't give a crap about the environment or how we care for it for future generations. He doesn't give a crap that a lot of people don't have boots at all, let alone bootstraps. He doesn't realize that he is demonstrating the importance of education.

I've come to the conclusion that possibly the amount of empathy people have is related to their tendency for right or left views. I think part of it is hard wired.

I've heard this saying:

People on the left are worried that someone who needs help might not get it. (Sure, there are always a few who take advantage.)

People on the right are worried that someone who didn't need help might get something they didn't deserve. (Well, except the rich who can take everything.)

macaRomney somehow thinks by his sheer awesomeness he has more than others. However, he could have been born under different circumstances. He has zero empathy.

There may be a reason maca is unnaturally protective of farm animals.

I would like to see his phrenology report before making any assumptions. Perhaps there is no hope.

I love Little Big Horn, site of America’s greatest military victory. I love the Hopi, keepers of the sacred land. I love the Cherokee, the Seminole, and other displaced Americans. I love the little Americans sent to residential schools who died there. I love the patience and grace that Americans show towards the alien occupying force that stole their land and destroyed their culture.

Meegwetch.

Off to the dictionary again, dammit!

Going off to the dictionary is a good thing. Excellent, in fact. I often stumble across other stuff in the process, and learn far more than that one fact. If I said what the word meant, people wouldn't bother to look, and would miss the serendipitous discoveries.

So I found the music video. Absolutely beautiful. Meegwetch.

I didn't know there was a video, so thank you. It was filmed in Winnipeg, where I used to live, and where I learned the word. Manitoba is about 20% native peoples.

ETA: I looked up Tamara Podemski and while she is part Ojibway (the native people most common around Winnipeg and points east), she is from Toronto, so I imagine the video was likely filmed in or around Toronto. It is a rundown looking part of town, that is striking similar to the older section of Winnipeg where the native residents are concentrated. I had some starving artist friends when I was in Winnipeg, who lived in that part of town. It was an interesting mix of natives, artists, south and SE Asians, and a little bit of everything else.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2021 04:17PM by Brother Of Jerry.

Bless the Code Talkers, the Steel Walkers, and the Red, Rite & Brown men and women of America who are slowly building a network of sacred Casinos where Maca and his ilk can gamble in the peace and harmony to which every good American is heir.

"The only good Indian is a dealer Indian."

XOXO, Jesus. We need your insight and irony here.

what...?


Are you ovulating?

Dream on, Padre.

Beautiful

This is wonderful to read. Thank you for posting it.