that armed revolution against the crown
was a fire hazzard and a verboten
I'm really excited actually. I'll get to go to at least one barbecue this Independence Day unlike the last two years... when I was assigned the closing shift on the 4th. >_>
Unfortunately, in my state those fireworks are highly illegal
It is in my state, too.
Unfortunately, in my state those fireworks are highly illegal.
My state only outlawed the good ones. We can still get sparklers and those ash-snake things.
One of the advantages of living in the countryside is most of the neighbors don't care if you're shooting off illegal fireworks. Or are too busy shooting off something bigger to care about what you're doing. :P
This man has the right of it. lol
Heck, I've seen the police pull up to a street where they were shooting off illegal fireworks... and watch them four about a half-hour before continuing on their way to search for drunk drivers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRGUqd_M6Mg
-DF
4th of July is a celebration, not a wake.
4th of July is celebrating the founding fathers kicking all the brits out of the colonies.
(like St Patty's Day celebrates St Patty kicking all the sober people out of Chicago)
Here's to our nation, our freedoms, and our way of life, paid for dearly but worth the sacrifice. May the men and women who protect our lands and the lands of others remain safe, alert, and loved by their people.
God bless America.
In review,
The brits say it was ok for them to revolt against the occupying Roman Empire,
but it was a high crime for the American colonies to revolt from the occupying British Empire,
just as its seen as wrong for CSA to revolt from the occupying american Union empire.
History is written by the winners of the wars.
Which leader rebelled against an occupying over-regulating urban government, far away from the rural production governerships it ruled:
George Washington or Jefferson Davis?
Same Stuff Different Day
We should not celebrate victory. We should not celebrate wars at all. We should celebrate when wars are over.
If you disagree with the sentiment, I respect that, but the history of Armistice Day is extremely clear. I would hope that others would respect it for what it is, instead of trying to wrench into the shape of sabre-rattling jingoism.
Happy birthday America. This is another year, another chance to get better, to act as global citizens with a duty to render aid to the world and your own people. We just celebrated my country's birthday a few days ago, and I said all these things then, too. We're all in this together.
History is written by the winners of the wars.
Not to derail the thread, but as someone in the history field I have to say, this common phrase have very little truth to it. :P
There's quite a bit of truth to it, actually, but like most things, it's just more complicated than that. The history that is taught in public schools and approved by the dominant institution(s) is usually the history that benefits that/those institution(s). So it's "written" by the "winners" in the sense that whoever's in charge gets to decide on the official story, but of course there's always counter-narratives.
In this sense you have a point. But to believe that through the course of history, all evidence, documents, and so forth are in favor of or are tailored to serve the "victor" is not the case. But I think I may be looking at it deeper than the intent of the phrase.
In this sense you have a point. But to believe that through the course of history, all evidence, documents, and so forth are in favor of or are tailored to serve the "victor" is not the case. But I think I may be looking at it deeper than the intent of the phrase.
Honestly? That sounds about right to me. Old sayings aren't usually taken as, or meant to be, literally and totally true. They're clues in the direction of something that's probably, usually true. It's not that all history texts ever are literally written by the victors in a given war/battle/whatever. It's that part of the benefit of being in power is that you get to retell the story of how you got into power in such a way that it makes you look noble, or that destiny thrust it upon you, or some such tripe. The dominant historical texts are usually written retroactively to justify the current hegemony's power (yeah, I used the word "hegemony," and I even know what it means!).
All that being said, there are many and various ways to compare what the people in power say to the reality of a situation, and it's not actually all that hard to see through their bullsh*t. It's really easy to tell when the proponents of the British Empire were (and sometimes are!) shovelling crap, and it's extremely easy to tell when the the proponents of the growing American Empire are doing the same thing. They often use the same rhetorical tactics, even. The same is true of any dominating force. My government does it all the friggin' time. Canada just doesn't have much by way of international weight to throw around, so nobody else hears about it (but you just ask the Cree how they feel about Canadian hegemony and you'll get an earful).
Anyway, I do go on.
I'm glad to see Independence Day is actually inspiring some thought.
I think I'll have another beer
(Sam Adams or course ;) )
Sam Adams or course ;) )
Good choice, a Harpoon ain't a bad followup... then again i'm biased as I'm from Whaling land...