Redtree Times

J.C. Leyendecker 4th of July Saturday Evening Post cover 1930

If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.

–Thumper, repeating the lesson taught to him by his father in Bambi (1942)

Well, it’s the Fourth of July here in the United States of America. Our 250th, which should be cause for celebration among all the people of this country. It’s been a rocky road at times but for our fragile experiment in democracy to have somehow stumbled this far should have us all cheering.

Yet, I am not feeling very celebratory this year. No flag flying as it normally does on this day at our home. No plans to watch high school bands march by in parades. No Sousa marches or Irving Berlin’s God Bless America. No plans to watch fireworks of any sort, though that is not new for this year. Not a fan of fireworks display anymore for a number of reasons, the most notables being my aversion to the sound and seeing how they disturb our pets and the wildlife around us.

The point is that the 4th this year feels unlike any of the others in my increasingly long life. And not in a good way.

I don’t feel like the proud citizen of a mighty, benevolent, and just nation. More like a disturbed captive or hostage, victim of a home invasion.

That’s severe, I know. Probably inappropriate on this day. But it is how I honestly feel. And I believe I am not alone in feeling this way.

I could easily go on a rant listing the awfulness that has been unleashed on the American citizenry in recent years, but I am going to adhere to Thumper’s Rule as noted above and stop here.

Today, instead of focusing on the What-We-Have-Become, I choose to remember fondly the What-We-Were-Meant-To-Be.

I still hold tightly on to that ideal and don’t believe I will ever accept the What-We-Have-Become.

Here’s an unusual choice for a song on this 250th Fourth of July. It’s When the Roses Bloom Again from Billy Bragg and Wilco off the third of their Mermaid Avenue albums. It’s a reimagining of a song written in 1901 by Will Cobb, I’ll Be With You When the Roses Bloom Again, that describes the story of a soldier headed off to battle who promises his sweetheart he will return to her when the flowers return. He is mortally wounded in battle, and his last request is to be buried by the riverside where they first said goodbye.

For some reason this seems to fit this day. Perhaps a melancholy desire to return to the What-Might-Have-Been.

I don’t know. I would normally tell you to git at this point. But to be honest, I am glad to have had your company this morning. Thank you.

I chose the image at the top because, with that profile, the hair and the red and gold of his garb, it reminds me of someone. Just can’t figure out who…