Uniquely qualified to bring you this news: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124657699261689193.html#mod=djemEditorialPage

The Last Best Hope of Earth

July Fourth is much more than just an American holiday.

As long as the United States stands fast for the moral principles of July 4, 1776, we will continue to be the bulwark of freedom, the last best hope of earth.

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On a lighter note: http://open.salon.com/blog/iamsurly/2009/07/01/all_american_pride

It must be the Fourth of July as the local realtor has kindly put a plastic flag in my yard to remind me to be patriotic and to list my house with her when it is time to sell. Unfortunately for her, I rent. Every year these flags arrive in my yard and when the holiday is over, I'm at a loss as to how to dispose of the damn thing. Last year, I left it in a flower pot in the front yard until it faded and broke. I was then unsure what to do with it. It is not biodegradable and I doubt it is something my city will recycle; and while I know the Supreme Court will let me burn a cloth one if the mood strikes, none of the flag guidelines that I have found talk about the etiquette for the proper disposal of plastic flags. Last year I threw it in the trash under the cover of darkness. I wish to Betsy Ross the local realtor would stop putting me in this predicament each year.

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America Needs a New Anthem

So why does a nation with such a rich musical heritage tolerate the Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem? The Star-Spangled Banner is musically and lyrically bankrupt. (Liberals and conservatives should agree on this. Even the late William F. Buckley Jr., father of American conservatism, hated the anthem).

Let's examine the first stanza. (There are four! Who knew?)

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Here are just some of the problems:

Clearly, America needs a new anthem. Here are three options.

Of course, Americans won't rid themselves of the Star-Spangled Banner, so there's only one real option: Keep the anthem and orchestrate the hell out of it. Even the worst song can be orchestrated into something palatable, even beautiful.

And that's exactly what happened in Atlanta, 1991, when Whitney Houston sang the National Anthem during the Super Bowl. Houston's stunning voice, combined with a magnificent orchestration, transformed an abysmal anthem into a musical masterpiece.

May this extraordinary rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner be the beginning of a peaceful, joyous, and patriotic holiday.

As I wrote in Post #150030 : This is the day when I most miss America, my American friends, and my American home.

For me that's Thanksgiving. Maybe because I would be very often away during summer. 

Originally written by Nanna Mercer on July 4, 2009 12:26 PM As I wrote in Post #150030 : This is the day when I most miss America, my American friends, and my American home.

 

Well here's wishing you a happy fourth in Denmark!  I'll drink a beer in your honor.

Hi Guys!

On the assumption that there is no such thing as a silly question....

I'm from the UK and thought that July 4th was always known as "Independence Day" but I have noticed over recent years that people more often refer to the day of celebration as the 4th of July or simply the "fourth".

Was there a change in protocol or has it just evolved this way?

Whatever you wish to call it - may I hope all my American friends have a fantastic day!!

Julie J Farrell

Even when far away, we can always dream the American Dream... Like at this exhibition of American photography which just opened in Cracow:

John Baeder, Pappy's Place, Nashville, TN, 1985, olej, płótno © John Baeder, Louis K. and Susan P. Mesel Family Collection

Robert Bechtle, Alameda Chrysler, 1981, olej, płótno lniane, © Robert Bechtle, Louis K. and Susan P. Mesel Family Collection

Tom Blackwell, Sagaponack Sunday, 2003, olej, płótno lniane, © Tom Blackwell, Louis K. and Susan P. Mesel Family Collection

Robert Cothingham, Bud, 1996, litografia © Robert Cothingham, Louis K. and Susan P. Mesel Family Collection

Richard Estes, Pressing, 1978, akryl, deska © Richard Estes, Louis K. and Susan P. Mesel Family Collection

http://www.muzeum.krakow.pl/NewsItem.107.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2191&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=147&cHash=cab7e63160&L=1

http://www.polishmarket.com.pl/document/:20289,American+Dream+2+July+2009+4+October+2009.html

http://ewwwektm.blox.pl/html/1310721,262146,21.html?552681

Hi Julie, and welcome to TC.

I honestly don't know. I checked Google - wrote Fourth - and the first site that came up was Wikipedia with Independence Day.

Were you to ask, sometime during the month of December,"What are you doing on the Fourth?" my guess is that you'd receive a blank stare, "The Fourth?" Whereas, ask the same question in May or June and you will receive an answer relating to Independence Day.

Cheers,

Nanna

Originally written by Julie Farrell I'm from the UK and thought that July 4th was always known as "Independence Day" but I have noticed over recent years that people more often refer to the day of celebration as the 4th of July or simply the "fourth". Was there a change in protocol or has it just evolved this way? Whatever you wish to call it - may I hope all my American friends have a fantastic day!!

 

The holiday has always, or at least in my lifetime, been referred to as "the Fourth" in colloquial speech.  You see "Independence Day" printed on calendars, but that's about it.  I think this is on calendars because it would be bizarre (and redundant) to say "July Fourth" in the square for July 4th.

Anyway, I appreciate the ironic wish for a happy Fourth from a Brit. 

Originally written by David Kallans on July 5, 2009 2:51 AM Anyway, I appreciate the ironic wish for a happy Fourth from a Brit.

I don't suppose the "7-volley salute" (same number of volleys a ship calling at a foreign port would fire in the olden days) was ironically intended for South Korea rather than the US, in which case, it would then raise the question of how tolerant Obama would be for such "call for attention" (or would that be defiant) behavior?

Originally written by Jacek K. on July 4, 2009 11:56 AM     Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

In fact I think the American anthem is very beautiful, regardless of its distorted syntax and poetic inversions. People just do not know that much about music and poetry these days, and it may be quite difficult for some to sing. If something is too difficult or too incomprehensible, people usually reject it. As for the flag, not too many people have this kind of an attitude, perhaps on comic shows, usually cheap ones.