Anyone see this in todays PPG?
Americans will celebrate today across the country -- and anywhere else where there are Americans -- the 229th anniversary of the declaration of our country's independence.
Nothing should be allowed to spoil the joy of that anniversary. The Fourth of July is least of all a day for moping over what is wrong. All Americans and everyone else who lives in this country have the right to gaze on its beauty and watch the fireworks with the eyes of the young and the old, who have seen many such Fourths of July, in peace and at war.
At the same time, no one has the right to be free of the duty to reflect today -- briefly, because it is a holiday after all -- on points where America is not living up to its promise. At our worst we are smug. At our best we ask what we can do to make our country better, and then do it.
This town got an ugly glance at one thing wrong with America last week when a sick and homeless man, his poor wife and their dog met tragedy near a truck weigh station where they had been sleeping off Interstate 79 in Cranberry.
It goes on to lament about conditions in Iraq and other poblems with America.
Fair enough. But in my view, nothing should be allowed to spoil the joy of that anniversary. The Fourth of July is least of all a day for moping over what is wrong.
Wait. That's not my view. That's the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's view. See second paragraph, above. So, um, which is it?
Imagine of someone came to your birthday party and said,
"Congratulations, Joe. [Or Nancy.] I know you are still trying to get your life right, but today is a day to celebrate your greatest accomplishments. You are a swell fellow. [Or gal.] You have accomplished so much, and I hope we can spend a while reflecting on that success.
"For instance, you are twenty pounds overweight. And remember all those plans you had in college? You wanted to be rich and famous? But instead you have a semi-crappy 9 to 5 job. Sure, your kids are nice, but they have no greater claim to excellence than you do. Across the board, it seems to me that you have failed to live up to your potential. By the way, your signature chicked dish always struck me as a little dry. You sing off-key and you have bad breath. Happy birthday."
Kind of makes you think they weren't all that sincere about the success stuff, no? Again, fair enough. They just ought not kick it off with, "This is a day for celebration." I suspect they understand that starting with, "America kind of sucks" would not go over so well.
Seems kind of shabby. If you want to criticize, criticize. Don't dress it up with a bunch of faux-friendly rubbish.
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