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I’m just not feeling it this year.

23 Comments

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Today our country turns 250 years old. I should be celebrating, but I’ve lost the joy.

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I’m a first generation American on my father’s side, his family came from England in 1920. He was 10 years old.

I’m a second generation American on my mother’s side, her parents came from Austria in 1923. My grandmother was pregnant. Birthright citizenship, it matters.

I’m the proud wife of a Vietnam veteran.

The proud daughter of a World War II veteran.

The proud great granddaughter of a Civil War veteran.

The proud 4th great granddaughter of a Revolutionary War veteran.

I’m proud of their service, their sacrifice and their dedication to the freedoms we hold dear … but I’m not proud of what the country they fought for has become today.

And I doubt they would be either.

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That being said, I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday filled with whatever brings you joy.

❤️

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23 thoughts on “I’m just not feeling it this year.”

  1. I am the proud son of a man who fought in WWII and grandparents who wouldn’t be allowed to immigrate to this country today as they did in 1900. We can do better, and I am confident that we will.

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  2. I don’t have any military connections as such, but I hold those past and present in so much respect. I will always support them.

    My grandfather and great Uncle boxed professionally out of New York in the ’20s. (I have my granddad’s NY Boxing Commission Licence); my great uncle and aunt settled in Brooklyn; they had family who are now in Hartford, Conn.

    I grew up harbouring that same American Dream. (Not boxing – my nose may be a bit on the large size, but I’d quite like it to remain that way. 😉)

    I (we in UK) used to look across the water with a degree if envy.

    Not any more, I’m afraid … apart from Boston for a week or so last month.

    I wonder why that is …. 🤔😟

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  4. I feel exactly the same way. We live in discoursing times. But as I mentioned to Mary on her blog, this morning on a podcast, I was listening to Heather Cox Richardson and her no-nonsense optimism. Onward, ho and a happy Fourth!

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  5. July 4, 1985 was the first time Cathy and I woke up together (All perfectly innocent, of course 😉). We don’t talk about anything sexy, just the giant Chef boy ar Dee pizza and extra dry grape kool aid. There will be time to talk about the fat orange clown later, but today is for us.

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  6. My father and his recently widowed mother and younger brother were put in an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War 2. He was born and raised in the US and had never been to Japan, but he was declared a foreign enemy by the US government, just because of his ancestry. And yet, they drafted him out of the camp to serve in the Army. So he was still a US citizen in that regard, but not in others, something I will never understand.

    Anyway, it made me realize how fragile our civil rights are, and how easily we can lose them. I didn’t think it would happen again in my lifetime, but here we are. I’m still glad I was born in the US, but I won’t be hanging the flag outside this year or going to the fireworks display in town. (We had a small one last night thanks to the neighbors who must have bought an arsenal. 😛) Maybe in 2028, fingers crossed.

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    1. I’m so sorry your family had to experience that shameful part of our history. It’s a horrible lesson we can’t afford to forget, lest it happen again.
      Here’s to a bright 2028.
      🤞

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  8. It seems like recent times have left one half of the country or the other despairing of the state of our nation.

    It’s cyclical. First, one side’s appalling party is in power, and then an election or two later, the other side’s appalling party is in power.

    And as long as we name call and focus on differences, it’ll stay that way.

    And the longer we stay in that rut, the more impassioned and exaggerated the name-calling will become.

    There is common ground. Not every action of one side is anthema to the other. But just enough of it is that tribalism wins out.

    I choose today to celebrate the amazing and marvelous gift the Founding Fathers gave us. An unprecedented attempt to protect liberty and give the power back to the people.

    Is it perfect?

    Am I always jumping for joy when an election ends?

    No.

    But it sure as hell beats all the alternatives.

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    2. Idk man, this administration comes off as far worse than any previous republican administration. Trump 1.0 sucked but it was mostly kept in check and felt cyclical. Trump 2.0 is balls to wall wreckless.

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  9. I think a lot of us feel the way you do, I’m fourth generation American. My maternal grandfather fought in WWII, two of my cousins fought in Desert Storm and one of my uncles served in the Air Force. I’m pretty sure my grandfather who served in the Army during the Second World War would be appalled and disappointed at what our country had become. But, like all things, we continue to change, evolve and hoping that our country will overcome this hangover and start taking care of our people. No matter where they come from, what religion they are or what language they choose to speak. Happy 4th 🎉🙌🏻🎉🧨🎇🎆

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  10. July 4th was too hot to eat outside, so we had dogs, tater salad, corn cob indoors. My wife had to work, and we didn’t go anywhere. Right there with you about celebrating. Yesterday was just another day.

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