Tag: 4th of July

Sunday Morning Reading

Mixed feelings and mixed emotions on a Summer Sunday by the lake.

The 4th of July weekend is wrapping up in the U.S. and many are having mixed feelings this year. Today’s edition of Sunday Morning Reading will feature some excellent writing on some of those mixed feelings in addition to some interesting reads on familiar topics from familiar writers, and some not so familiar. Enjoy.

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First up, let’s take a look at Elizabeth Lopatto’s view on the state of things in the states in her post The American System of Democracy Has Crashed. Excellent. Should be required reading.

Neil Steinberg also has thoughts well worth your time in He’s baaaaaaack.

Jack Hopkins gives us The 4th of July: What We Were Meant to Celebrate — and How We’re Failing It. Again, worth a read as we close out the long holiday weekend and this section of today’s Sunday Morning Reading.

Now for some catching up on some links I’ve delayed too long in sharing.

First up is The Chosen Few and the Cost of Global Silence from NatashaMH. History repeats. All the damn time. As she also demonstrates in this piece The Cruelty of Indifference.

Relative youngster, David Todd McCarty writes about aging in When I Am Old.

Writers are having trouble finding the right fit when it comes to how to make a living. Matthew Ingram tells us Why Substack Shouldn’t Be The Future of Online Publishing. We

Chuck Wendig argues about and bemoans the loss of downtime in his writing process given all that’s happening around us in A Small But Vital Thing, Taken.

While writers search for new ways and new homes, Joshua Rothman wonders What’s Happening To Reading?

Never Forgive Them is a piece from Edward Zitron from December 2024 that seems relevant again in more ways than it was intended then.

Composer and poet Stan Stewart recently had his computer die on him. He writes about what he lost and found in Of Dead Computers and Really Living.

Matteo Wong says The Entire Internet Is Reverting to Beta. Sure everything is a janky work in progress, certainly in the janky days of AI. But I think that’s how those who think they run the joint like running the joint.

And to close out this week, take a good look at this wonderful long read from Eric Konigsberg from all the way back in 2001, entitled My Uncle The Hit Man.

Image from Giuseppe Argenziano on Unsplash.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.

Not as Self-Evident as Some Would Have You Believe

History twists and turns in often strange ways.

Some things are indeed self-evident. Some of that evidence gets white washed away.

 This video was created as an ad by Ancestry.com to encourage folks to use that service to learn more about their ancestry. It feels particularly relevant again on this 4th of July, 2025.

I can’t vouch for the claim that all of those pictured are actual descendants of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. I can claim that I’d like that to be the case, because to my mind it would be a nice addition to the mythology surrounding this country’s founding and almost 250 years of existence, now that what those who did the signing actually stood for is under threat.  

History may be written by the victors. But there’s always more than what the chapters convey.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

A Not So Happy 4th of July

Mourning not celebrating this year.

Today is the 4th of July. Beyond its annual appearance on the Gregorian calendar it has always been a day of special significance for Americans. Indeed, the reason behind the celebration has been until recently an inspiration for the world. But that has changed. Sadly, I’m one who believes forever. At least the forever that is the remainder of my life. 

What’s intriguing is how we’ve all managed to mangle up the significance of the 4th of July and Independence Day. At its essence the day celebrates the 56 men who put their name on a declaration declaring independence from the King of Britain. No small undertaking, they were willing to hang for their beliefs by putting their names on that document. A far different display of courage than what we see from any of our political leaders these days, especially those who are content to bow to another king wannabe in Donald Trump. 

Keep in mind, that a large portion of the population of America at the time had no interest in independence from the crown. That division of opinion has always been a part of the character of the country and always will be. Call it self-evident.

It’s brought us through tumult and brought us into conflict. Yet we’ve always had enduring principles alongside some morally wrong views, later enshrined in the Constitution, to keep us on course for change. Frederick Douglass’s 1852 speech, What To A Slave is the Fourth of July? spoke elegantly to the challenges then and sadly still with us.

I certainly don’t need to recount any of the madness that is happening around and to us, as it is tough to keep up with most of it. Our backwards trajectory at the moment almost defies reason. So, instead of celebrating the 4th, I’ll be mourning.

I’m also going to link to an excellent piece from Jack Hopkins called The 4th of July: What We Were Meant to Celebrate— and How We’re Failing It. One of the many points Hopkins points to is that the Founders weren’t just rebels, they were thinkers. As a country, we seem to have lost our capability and desire for that kind of thought and philosophical approach to governing ourselves. 

Here’s hoping you enjoy your time this weekend with family and friends. If you’re happy with the way things are going, good for you, but also damn you to hell. If you’re not, mourn or celebrate as you will. Mark what was a courageous beginning in a time that seems to be marking the cowardly beginning of an end to what it started.

As Hopkins says, “the 4th of July isn’t just a birthday. It’s a challenge.” 

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

Why I Fight

Fighting for the future.

I get asked often why I fight so fiercely about the detestable and dangerous  turn our country has taken. Yes, it’s about the larger ramifications of our country now subject to the character and whims of an elected king. Ironically in the week we celebrate our American independence from a king. It’s certainly about that. 

Selfishly though, it’s really about the future of my two gandkids. Spending time with them this 4th of July and I fear for their future. I fear for the moments when their small world innocence is lost and I have to tell them how things used to be.

There were joys to hold on to:

Watching my grandson dance with abandon in the middle of a crowd listening to the Detroit Symphony while waiting for fireworks to begin. 

 Giving my granddaughter her first taste of ice cream and watching her face light up the same way I watched my Dad give her mother, my daughter, her first taste and then try to devour everyone else’s ice cream the same why my granddaughter did.

Watching my wife teach my grandson how to make a wish by tossing a coin in a fountain. 

I’m fighting for all of that in hopes one day they will only have to read about what we’re living through as a sad piece of history and not the moment when irreversible change happened. 

That’s my wish and my fight.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

Great 4th of July or Any Day Message About the US

Send this to your friends, your enemies, and anyone else who needs some sense knocked into their heads.

If you’re struggling like I am with the fundamental changes happening in this country as we hit the 4th of July, play this ad from John Cena about what it means to be an American. 

 

Don’t just play it, send it around. Every day. Each and every day. Especially to those who’ve lost the plot.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

The Sad Irony of Our Political Fireworks

Going to be surreal celebrating USA independence from a king after the Supreme Court ruling.

I’m struggling through this political mess we’re in and shared some of my thoughts in Rome Magazine on Medium. I hope you take a minute of your time to read it. 

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The irony of the Supreme Court giving the president immunity most monarchs would die for may be rich, but it’s also extremely sad, given the timing. Yes, I’m still in a state of profound disillusionment and yes, I’m working to figure out how to change that, but I’ve got to be honest. There are moments when I’m not sure if it’s worth the candle, much less lighting up some fireworks this 4th of July.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.