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The Founding Fathers would be ashamed of Donald Trump's egocentric, militaristic July 4th
Trump is hijacking a holiday that was purely patriotic and nonpartisan until now. The big issue when my dad was president was a Beach Boys performance.
When I was very young — 6 or 7 is my memory — my parents thought it would be a fun idea to take me to the Hollywood Bowl for the fireworks show on July Fourth. I remember the car ride at sunset, sitting in the back seat with the window down and a warm breeze blowing across me. And then I remember sitting in a hard chair very close to the main floor when suddenly the world in front of me erupted into fiery shards and huge arching shapes.
The noise was deafening. I began screaming and crying, my hands clapped tightly over my ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound, which was more frightening to me than the fireworks, although they scared me, too. My parents had no choice but to take me out of there. On the drive home, I was still crying. But by then it was because I felt awful for ruining my parents’ evening.
My weeping continued as my mother put me to bed, and she dispatched my father to come in and talk to me. He was always the one designated for soothing an upset child. He sat on the edge of my bed and told me I didn’t need to feel bad, some people are just frightened by loud noises.
...
It seems so quaint now, a dispute about whether rock-and-roll leads to drugs and chaos, as Watt claimed. Thirty-six years later, we are watching the man who occupies the Oval Office defy the Constitution, gaslight the country on a daily basis, call political opponents names that would get children banished to their rooms, attack the free press, andclaim the Fourth of July for his own purposesas if the holiday were invented for him. My fear of fireworks is nothing compared with my fears for America.
Perhaps on the Fourth, amidst the fireworks and picnics and Trump's display of Abrams tanks, we might want to reflect on the small group of men who, from their hearts and their deepest convictions, dreamed of a nation that would never fall prey to a tyrant.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/07/03/donald-trump-july-4th-about-him-not-patriotism-america-column/1585897001/
When I was very young — 6 or 7 is my memory — my parents thought it would be a fun idea to take me to the Hollywood Bowl for the fireworks show on July Fourth. I remember the car ride at sunset, sitting in the back seat with the window down and a warm breeze blowing across me. And then I remember sitting in a hard chair very close to the main floor when suddenly the world in front of me erupted into fiery shards and huge arching shapes.
The noise was deafening. I began screaming and crying, my hands clapped tightly over my ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound, which was more frightening to me than the fireworks, although they scared me, too. My parents had no choice but to take me out of there. On the drive home, I was still crying. But by then it was because I felt awful for ruining my parents’ evening.
My weeping continued as my mother put me to bed, and she dispatched my father to come in and talk to me. He was always the one designated for soothing an upset child. He sat on the edge of my bed and told me I didn’t need to feel bad, some people are just frightened by loud noises.
...
It seems so quaint now, a dispute about whether rock-and-roll leads to drugs and chaos, as Watt claimed. Thirty-six years later, we are watching the man who occupies the Oval Office defy the Constitution, gaslight the country on a daily basis, call political opponents names that would get children banished to their rooms, attack the free press, andclaim the Fourth of July for his own purposesas if the holiday were invented for him. My fear of fireworks is nothing compared with my fears for America.
Perhaps on the Fourth, amidst the fireworks and picnics and Trump's display of Abrams tanks, we might want to reflect on the small group of men who, from their hearts and their deepest convictions, dreamed of a nation that would never fall prey to a tyrant.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/07/03/donald-trump-july-4th-about-him-not-patriotism-america-column/1585897001/