Rant #2,929: America

We are right smack dab in the middle of the Independence Day pre-holiday rush, leading up to July 4, Independence Day, on Monday.
 
This is not any fringe “independence day” that we are celebrating here; this is the REAL DEAL.
 
We will be celebrating this great country’s 146th birthday, and even though there are some who want to poke holes into the very fabric of out nation, the U.S.A. remains the greatest country in the world, perhaps the one country that seemingly the entire world wants to become a part of.
 
Sure, you are gong to have your detractors, and you are going to have people and groups who say and do things that are contrary to what this country stands for, but where would you rather be right now at this point in the world’s history?
 
I am going to rerun an edited version of Rant No. 996, July 3, 2013, because I think it gets to the essence of the holiday for me.
 
So here it is, in edited form.
 
"What are you doing on July 4?
 
Well, what I can say is that I am doing next to nothing, which I think is pretty good, at least for me.
 
I can get off that hamster track for one day.
 
I can sit at home and do little or nothing, which is exactly what I plan on doing.
 
Anyway, I will probably watch some baseball on TV.
 
Baseball and July 4 go together like peanut butter does to bread.
 
You thought I was going to say "and jelly," but I hate jelly.
 
Anyway, we will have a barbecue.
 
Barbecues and July 4 go together like ... well, like peanut butter to bread.
 
We always have a barbecue on July 4, because it is the traditional thing to do.
 
My wife, who doesn't eat much red meat but is not a vegetarian, eats her one beef hot dog that day.
 
Hebrew National, of course.
 
I like Nathan's hot dogs, but Hebrew National is my choice for the best commercial hot dog on the market today.
 
It simply tastes better than other hot dogs.
 
And it is kosher, supposedly, so it is held to a higher manufacturing standard.
 
Later that night, we will hear fireworks all around us, and we might watch fireworks on TV.
 
I am not as excited by fireworks as some people are.
 
To me, it is little more than a lot of noise.
 
And then, that will be July 4 for me.
 
Then, we will all go back to our normal activities, and it will be as if July 4 never happened."
 
Yes, that is pretty much the holiday for me, a holiday where we celebrate our history the way we want to do it—which our country’s forefathers would have wanted us to have the right to do.
 
And July 4 is for ALL Americans, and thus, it is the country’s only REAL Independence Day, because it defines the current buzz world of “inclusion,” with everyone invited to the party of their own choosing.
 
This country is often divided over issues and over nonsense, but July 4 is the one day that we can all get together and celebrate this wonderful country that we live in, and do it on an equal plane.
 
And let’s not ever forget that, as we inch closer to the 250th anniversary of the existence of the greatest country in the world.
 
I will take Monday off like most of us, so I will speak to you again on Tuesday.
 
Have a great weekend, a great Independence Day celebration, and wave your flag proudly on July 4.
 
The Stars and Stripes continues to mean the world to all of us ,,, U.S ... get it?