Fresh off the 4th of July I thought this would be a good time to talk about being a red-blooded American and my thoughts on patriotism. I hopefully fall into a category of a large group of people that absolutely loves the United States of America. I think most people would agree that there is no better country on Earth that is better than ours ... especially if you have been across our borders to Canada or Mexico or to any other country around the globe.
The 4th of July is obviously the day the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain (not sure what is so great about it and probably why it should be called England). They probably still haven't gotten over the fact that we won the Revolutionary War and then had to save their butts in two World Wars as well. This holiday to celebrate independence is way better than any other country. Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) or El Grito de la Independencia (Cry of Independence) is what I guess would count as Mexico's independence on September 16 but who has heard of that. And if Ashley is reading this it is not the Cry of Doloros. Canada Day is July 1 and used to be called Dominion Day but they didn't colonize until 1867 so it took them nearly 100 more years than it did us. The only independence day other than our own that I even knew about was Bastille Day which is July 14 and is France's day of independence. I only knew that because it is my grandma's birthday and saw it listed on the calendar so I googled it a few years ago.
Who doesn't love the pageantry that goes along with the 4th of July. Nothing says America more than people getting together with friends and family to grill some burgers and dogs, drink some beer and watch fireworks. You take that and add in some apple pie, Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA playing in the background and an apache helicopter flyover and you have yourself the perfect day to celebrate this wonderful country.
I feel like people should show their patriotism all year long and not just on certain occasions. I believe the pledge of allegiance should be said every morning in schools. That was one of my favorite parts of school growing up because I loved looking at the stars and stripes. I even had a large U.S. flag hanging on the wall behind my bed when I was in college so Iit was a reminder of how great I had it every morning I woke up. I am also a firm believer in every American putting their hand over their heart when the National Anthem is played (and no hats people). I also think that any time you hear the Star Spangled Banner regardless of where you are at you should stand still and for the love of god stay quiet. One of my biggest pet peeves is people talking during the national anthem - it is less than two minutes for pete's sake. I also think people should be more patriotic when people are representing the USA in the Olympics or World Cup. When I was in Germany for the World Cup in 2006, all the other countries were so much more passionate about their teams and it pissed me off.
I would like to close with some pictures of my top five patriotic performers.
1. Hacksaw Jim Duggan - My favorite wrestler of all time. Not only did he carry around an American flag but he also toted a 2x4 which is amazing. He would constantly chant "U.S.A. ... U.S.A. ... U.S.A." I was reminded about the 2x4 the other night when "The Rock" used a 2x4 to bring justice to his hometown in the movie Walking Tall.
2. Butterbean - no doubt my favorite boxer of all time and really the only reason I have ever watched the sport of boxing because it is so boring. He rocked the patriotic trunks and fists of justice, making the sport exciting because with any punch he could knock a guy across the ring and end the fight. He never had many fights scheduled for more than three rounds but he never really needed to.
3. American Gladiators - I loved this television show and nothing says America better than competitions with people jacked up on steroids. I mean baseball, America's pastime, is full of these athletes. The only Americans love more than baseball is suing each other so you know American Gladiators would be a hit. My two favorite things about the show were obviously the red, white and blue uniforms of the gladiators but the events were great, especially assault and of course the eliminator.
4. Super Dave Osborne - a comedian who played the role of a stunt man and had his own variety show in the late 80's and early 90's. He acted as though he would perform extremely dangerous stunts and something always happened where he ended up seriously injured. He was very funny and a great entertainer. His outfit included red, white and blue with gold stars shouting I love America.
5. Apollo Creed - hard to root for because he fought Rocky and I suppose people all rooted for the Italian Stallion since he was the movie's underdog. I on the other hand wanted Apollo Creed to dominate because of this outfit he entered the ring in.
USA ... USA ... USA ... USA ... USA ... USA ... USA ... USA ... USA ... USA ... USA ... USA ... USA ... USA
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