The 4th of July holiday never meant much to me in terms of festivity. My parents were safety freaks so fireworks were out. You generally have to work the next day so drinking is out. I don't have any great camping traditions or family outings to look forward to so often I just enjoy the free day at home. This year, wanting to connect with the community I find myself living in longer than I expected (much, much longer), I dragged boyfriend down to the park where the Chamber of Commerce holds an annual 4th of July gathering. There's BBQ, cotton candy, bands playing, bouncy castles for the kids and of course a fireworks show.
As we got cozy on our oversized beach towel I couldn't help but look around at the people surrounding our terry cloth oasis. To be honest I was repulsed by the site of dozens of obese men, women and children in their plus-plus-plus sized clothing. The addition of no doubt ex-convicts and generally trashy people with their trashy offspring only added to my disgust. Now let me preface by saying I don't think of myself as being better than anyone but when I'm surrounded by toothless, braless, classless people I can't help but feel a little higher up the social totem pole.
The display of gluttony and sloth got me thinking about the reason we celebrate the 4th of July. It's our day of Independence. It's been a hard fought battle throughout America's entire history and it was fought by brave men and women who firmly believed we deserved to be free. The thought that struck me at my moment of taking in the surrounding sites of what America is (obese, lazy, classless) was: If our Veterans and Forefathers knew what we'd become, do you think they'd have fought so hard to make it happen?
As we got cozy on our oversized beach towel I couldn't help but look around at the people surrounding our terry cloth oasis. To be honest I was repulsed by the site of dozens of obese men, women and children in their plus-plus-plus sized clothing. The addition of no doubt ex-convicts and generally trashy people with their trashy offspring only added to my disgust. Now let me preface by saying I don't think of myself as being better than anyone but when I'm surrounded by toothless, braless, classless people I can't help but feel a little higher up the social totem pole.
The display of gluttony and sloth got me thinking about the reason we celebrate the 4th of July. It's our day of Independence. It's been a hard fought battle throughout America's entire history and it was fought by brave men and women who firmly believed we deserved to be free. The thought that struck me at my moment of taking in the surrounding sites of what America is (obese, lazy, classless) was: If our Veterans and Forefathers knew what we'd become, do you think they'd have fought so hard to make it happen?
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