Fireworks, history and a short political rant

Today is the fourth of July. We celebrate the time when our forefathers sent the British and their poor dental hygiene back to the cold, wet shores of Europe. We knew how to tax people all by ourselves and we were damn sure not going to hand over any more of the booty to the king, especially since he was such a despot.



In any case, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by congress on July 4, 1776 and soon thereafter, the thirteen colonies decided to form a more perfect union.



This past week, with the approaching holiday, my email was deluged with quasi-patriotic propoganda because apparently, this occasion now belongs to the military. Under normal circumstances, I would avoid any political talk but I just felt compelled to comment. This holiday commemorates a nation's basic right to self-determination from an occupying force. Hmmm...



When you look back on our history, we have a few blemishes:

• We didn't get into WWII until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and to retaliate, we dropped not one, but two H bombs on a country the size of Montana. Talk about overkill.


• Korean War: The US and the Soviet Union, as occupation forces, carve up a country into two halves after WWII and then proceed to fight each other for control of the Korean Peninsula. Essentially, it became a civil war that we helped to engineer. We called it a "police action". China got involved, the UN got involved and everyone built underground bunkers in anticipation of the coming nuclear war. How was it that this conflict helped to secure my freedom at home?


• Vietnam: Civil war and the communist ideology were seen as a big enough domestic threat that thousands of men and women were sent over to this jungle to die. This one was also officially called a police action. Again, I wonder how it is that this conflict helped to secure my freedom at home.

I have no problem with soldiers fighting any type of force that would try to invade and occupy America. Heck, I'd be out there on the front lines with everyone else. I love this country. What bothers me is when we send the men and women of our military to far flung places to fight ideological wars. They die over there. They are somebody's son or daughter, someone's husband, wife, mother, father, friend...and they die. They also kill. It is their job.

Now I just have to wonder what happens to the emotional fabric of a young boy or girl who is a native in one of those far flung places and who loses everything to the war. How do they view us? What is their opinion of us as they grow and mature and attend school? Will they hate us? If they do, it won't be because they "hate what we stand for". This is a completely ignorant soundbite that has shamefully been used to summarize the Arab/American issues. It ranks right up there with speaking about the invasion of Iraq and the tragedy of 9/11 in the same sentence.

I think about this because I wonder if my kids will be okay in the future as they travel on their American passports. Will they ever be safe outside of Canada or the US? Will the sons and daughters of the "collateral damage" in Afganistan and Iraq seek revenge? Have we already unwittingly planted the seeds that will bloom into future terrorists?

I know many of you will suck air through your teeth, shake your head and want tell my liberal, pinko, commie, Canadian ass to head back north. I understand those feelings. Remember, though, that I am the mother of two American children and just this once, I'd like to teach them about the principles upon which this country was founded without the polluted rhetoric of the new breed of spin doctor. I think that as they navigate their lives, they will need to recall that there was a time when America was the under dog. I hope it humbles them, tempers their opinions and helps them to be tolerant and respectful. If not, I will force them to drink tea and watch hours upon hours of Monty Python.