*fourth of july*

So, my dears, the United States of America is...235 years old. Compared to most other countries, America is still a baby, albeit a fairly experienced infant.

I am proud to be an American. Yes, we currently have a really bad rep with the rest of the world, but I don't think being American is about obnoxious tourists and McDonald's fries. I like to think it's more than that; it's freedom and independence and a spirit so strong it couldn't be contained by thirteen colonies. The American Revolution is my favorite war (ignore the oxymoron for the time being) because basically, we simply wouldn't take no for an answer, and the original patriots were stupid and brave enough to take that to the extreme.

They risked everything they had so that we can have what we have today. I like to think that is the true American spirit, but maybe I'm being nostalgic. Nostalgic for a time period I never knew, a time I can only read about (I've had a thing for Esther Forbes' Johnny Tremain since I was like eight...fills me up with the revolutionary spirit every single time).

Sometimes I really wish we could invent a time machine already. There is no substitute for experience. We can never truly know what the Revolution was like, or what the founding fathers thought American Spirit was. We can only guess, and continue to piss off the rest of the world as we pass the baton to China as they become the next superpower.

I really love the Fourth. It's one of my favorite holidays; tons of food, fireworks and fun. I adore fireworks; I think they are so romantic. This year, my town decided to get fancy and add a soundtrack to the fireworks display. Legit felt like I was in a movie, the music was so deep and intense. They finished off with Katy Perry's Firework--ohsoclever, huh?

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Happy Fourth!