I'm not too keen on holidays as a rule. I tend to find them quite disruptive. But that's probably arbitrary as I'm a single person, and single people depend more on routine and on outside factions maintaining their general protocols so as to be easier to navigate around---as a single person I'm frequently interjecting all my responsibilities, constantly trying to figure out how to "time them out" so as to put as much behind me as I can.
When one is single they don't have the luxury of lovers, roommates, or relatives they can cajolically "enslave" to perform some of their "domestic mandates" for them so as to lessen their workload---when you're single and something "needs to be taken care of" it's all on YOU to do it.
And when one of those bullshit "holidays" come around everybody "closes shop" and everything comes to a stop, save for activities sorrounding the festivities of said holiday...which can throw your "patterns" off and cause you a certain degree of psycho-disarray.
The Fourth of July...the celebration of the date (in 1776) in which this country officially became a "nation" in it's own right. The day this land officially, by written decree, added itself to the list of "recognized nations", joining the ranks of England, France, Japan, China, Egypt and others...although, at the time, those overseas had yet to be as "accepting" of this as we were.
These days I have such mixed emotions about celebrating the origins and beginnings of a country that, essentially, seems to have "given up on itself".
This country has quite a rich history, as well as plenty of it's own legacies---an impressive past a nation should be proud of.
But, for about the past 30 years or so, it seems that it's been resting on the laurels of that past instead of doing anything to further improve itself
...in fact, anymore it doesn't even seem to able to maintain any of it's own creations anymore.
It's failed---or continues to be failing---to maintain it's own industries (all the lay-offs, the unemployment crisis), it's own institutions (from Social Security to NASA to the Postal Services)
...it's failed to even maintain it's own physical makeup---the highways, roads, bridges, and buildings are in chronic disrepair, to the point of being hazardous to the general public; it's infrastructure
...it's neglected and forgotten about a lot of it's historic sites, even building commercial and residential properties on top of a lot of those sites. And as for the ones that are still recognized, a lot of them have become inaccessable to the general public due to the fact that they are part of state park systems, a lot of which are closing down due to lack of funds---an example of how reckless and irreverant those-in-charge are toward this country's own monetary system that thay can no longer treat it like something essential and important---they can only waste it and flaunt it on frivolous projects, but when funds are needed for what matters the money is suddenly lacking.
This country has it's priorities in the wrong order, for sure:
Everything that was ever right with it and right about it---any amenities it ever had, any of the "saving graces" it had which could justify putting up with the hardships and whatever drawbacks there are to living here have been systematically and incrementally disbanded and dissolved bit-by-bit
...while, at the same time, all of it's iniquities, all of it's "crap stuff"---not only has it exemplified and embraced them, but this country continues to increase those unsavory elements of itself in size and intensity
While everyone continues to lose their jobs, their benefits, their opportunities to live a decent life---while they keep shutting down national parks, closing schools, shutting down art museums, closing libraries
...while they continue to cut funding to essential government services and organizations---from NASA to retirement and medical benefits for government workers
...while they continue to allow the essential infrastructure---highways, bridges, sewer pipes, underground and aboveground utility pipes and wires and cables---to deteriorate from neglect and indifference
...While they continue doing that, we have plenty of:
gangs taking over our cities; corrupt politics and politicians; greedy large business owners getting even more wealthy overcharging consumers for the faulty products their companies are making and laying off workers and either putting production on automation or building factories in countries with lower worker wages and lax safety and environmental regulations; brand new jails and prisons being built all the time; illicit drugs; a free-flowing and poorly regulated gun trade; corruption among not only officials and authorities but among private citizens as well.
The United States continues to chant it's mantra of "freedom, rights and liberty"
...especially that of "personal liberty"---which is actually little more than license to "refuse to be 'integral'"...that is, to believe oneself to be an "independent entity" existing in their own right solely for their own sake instead of accepting the fact that they're "only one among 40 billion other people"...and that unless you're an "Einstein" of some kind you're just not ever going to be anyone special. A realization the ever-overinflated American ego just can't handle.
Like I said, I have mixed emotions about whether or not to embrace this here "Fourth-of-July" celebration
...on the one hand the U.S. definitely has more than it's fair share of lush history and noteworthy legacies which and who by themselves still justify a cause-for-celebration
...on the other hand, this poor country has degenerated SO MUCH in the past three-or-so decades I just can't seem to get too "excited" about living here or embracing it anymore.
When one is single they don't have the luxury of lovers, roommates, or relatives they can cajolically "enslave" to perform some of their "domestic mandates" for them so as to lessen their workload---when you're single and something "needs to be taken care of" it's all on YOU to do it.
And when one of those bullshit "holidays" come around everybody "closes shop" and everything comes to a stop, save for activities sorrounding the festivities of said holiday...which can throw your "patterns" off and cause you a certain degree of psycho-disarray.
The Fourth of July...the celebration of the date (in 1776) in which this country officially became a "nation" in it's own right. The day this land officially, by written decree, added itself to the list of "recognized nations", joining the ranks of England, France, Japan, China, Egypt and others...although, at the time, those overseas had yet to be as "accepting" of this as we were.
These days I have such mixed emotions about celebrating the origins and beginnings of a country that, essentially, seems to have "given up on itself".
This country has quite a rich history, as well as plenty of it's own legacies---an impressive past a nation should be proud of.
But, for about the past 30 years or so, it seems that it's been resting on the laurels of that past instead of doing anything to further improve itself
...in fact, anymore it doesn't even seem to able to maintain any of it's own creations anymore.
It's failed---or continues to be failing---to maintain it's own industries (all the lay-offs, the unemployment crisis), it's own institutions (from Social Security to NASA to the Postal Services)
...it's failed to even maintain it's own physical makeup---the highways, roads, bridges, and buildings are in chronic disrepair, to the point of being hazardous to the general public; it's infrastructure
...it's neglected and forgotten about a lot of it's historic sites, even building commercial and residential properties on top of a lot of those sites. And as for the ones that are still recognized, a lot of them have become inaccessable to the general public due to the fact that they are part of state park systems, a lot of which are closing down due to lack of funds---an example of how reckless and irreverant those-in-charge are toward this country's own monetary system that thay can no longer treat it like something essential and important---they can only waste it and flaunt it on frivolous projects, but when funds are needed for what matters the money is suddenly lacking.
This country has it's priorities in the wrong order, for sure:
Everything that was ever right with it and right about it---any amenities it ever had, any of the "saving graces" it had which could justify putting up with the hardships and whatever drawbacks there are to living here have been systematically and incrementally disbanded and dissolved bit-by-bit
...while, at the same time, all of it's iniquities, all of it's "crap stuff"---not only has it exemplified and embraced them, but this country continues to increase those unsavory elements of itself in size and intensity
While everyone continues to lose their jobs, their benefits, their opportunities to live a decent life---while they keep shutting down national parks, closing schools, shutting down art museums, closing libraries
...while they continue to cut funding to essential government services and organizations---from NASA to retirement and medical benefits for government workers
...while they continue to allow the essential infrastructure---highways, bridges, sewer pipes, underground and aboveground utility pipes and wires and cables---to deteriorate from neglect and indifference
...While they continue doing that, we have plenty of:
gangs taking over our cities; corrupt politics and politicians; greedy large business owners getting even more wealthy overcharging consumers for the faulty products their companies are making and laying off workers and either putting production on automation or building factories in countries with lower worker wages and lax safety and environmental regulations; brand new jails and prisons being built all the time; illicit drugs; a free-flowing and poorly regulated gun trade; corruption among not only officials and authorities but among private citizens as well.
The United States continues to chant it's mantra of "freedom, rights and liberty"
...especially that of "personal liberty"---which is actually little more than license to "refuse to be 'integral'"...that is, to believe oneself to be an "independent entity" existing in their own right solely for their own sake instead of accepting the fact that they're "only one among 40 billion other people"...and that unless you're an "Einstein" of some kind you're just not ever going to be anyone special. A realization the ever-overinflated American ego just can't handle.
Like I said, I have mixed emotions about whether or not to embrace this here "Fourth-of-July" celebration
...on the one hand the U.S. definitely has more than it's fair share of lush history and noteworthy legacies which and who by themselves still justify a cause-for-celebration
...on the other hand, this poor country has degenerated SO MUCH in the past three-or-so decades I just can't seem to get too "excited" about living here or embracing it anymore.
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