We hope you are enjoying your Fourth of July weekend. But as you partake of the traditional backyard barbeque, and take in the local fireworks show, we hope you find time for a moment of reflection on the privilege that is yours by having the good fortune to live in this great country that for all its warts and pimples remains the greatest place on earth. You doubt us? Then reflect on the fact that people from all over the world are doing their best, often risking death in the process, to come here and become Americans, not the other way around. We could say more, but that says it all.
And as for our friends and erstwhile friends abroad, who these days tend to bitch and kvetch about America, we offer this thought. Twice in the twentieth century, Americans, those unsophisticated, rough-around-the-edges Americans tightened their belts and shouldered their arms to cross the ocean and save your sorry asses (if you’re British, make that arses) from the Huns, the Nazis and the Bolsheviks — Europeans, one and all — and in recent years have enabled you to maintain your fine standard of living without having to bear the economic cost and personal burdens of defending yourselves from the new barbarians who would air their “grievances” by blowing up innocent civilians. So as you tuck into another pain au chocolat in your favorite sidewalk café, do remember how you came to enjoy such a good life and reflect on who made it possible. You might even go over to your nearest McDonald’s, chow down on an American hamburger, and reflect on the fact that your real friends are those American “cowboys” who still shed their blood to defend you.
A Happy Fourth of July to all of you!