Independence Day

This year's 4th of July holiday somehow turned into a week-long celebration. It was a little like Christmas for me, running around visiting with family and friends who were in town and eating lots of food. What made it even more like Christmas was the fact that more and more, this secular holiday has begun to inspire more and more reverence from me. The Constitution is quickly becoming my Bible, and the celebration of the birth of our country my Christmas. The best way I can think to put it is I believe in God, but my faith belongs to the Constitution. Yes, I know that the Constitution didn't take effect until March 4, 1789, but since there's no Constitution Day, the 4th of July makes for an easy substitute.

As I continue to read works detailing the creation and ramifications of the Constitution, such as Jon Meacham's outstanding American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation and J.R. Norton's informative and acerbic Saving General Washington, my adoration for the document grows greater still. Learning more about our Constitution and our founding fathers has truly made me feel more patriotic. Unfortunately, the more patriotic I feel, the more I am disappointed with what is happening to our country and the ways in which our Constitution is being ignored and abused.

I really believe that things are going to get better. The problem is, change does not seem to be coming quickly enough for my tastes. This created a bit of a logjam when I sat down to write this post, as I wanted to praise what an amazing document the Founding Fathers had crafted, but I kept feeling the need to point out how the current administration seems to have thrown it out the window. I then realized that recently I have been complaining a bit too much about the current state of affairs in our government, and I was just going to do so again. Instead, I think I will give myself and those of you who actually read this blog a break. I know that Thomas Paine would be disappointed and probably pissed off at this prospect, but he seemed to be pissed off and disappointed most of the time anyway.

So, the rest of this week I'll be doing my best to post on current events not involving politics. Check back to see what I come up with. And don't worry, I'll be back to bitching about politics soon enough...