{"id":1297,"date":"2017-07-04T15:07:21","date_gmt":"2017-07-04T19:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/?p=1297"},"modified":"2020-10-02T10:52:28","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T14:52:28","slug":"thoughts-on-this-fourth-of-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/blog\/2017\/07\/04\/thoughts-on-this-fourth-of-july\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts on this Fourth Of July"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Greetings and Salutations;<\/div>\n
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As the midnight hour passed this morning, \u00a0and the 4th of July celebration began, \u00a0it struck me that there was a huge amount of cognitive dissonance in this year’s celebration. \u00a0 Some aspects remain the same…There are parades (Gatlinburg holds their parade at midnight, \u00a0so can claim to be the first parade of the day). \u00a0 There is flag waving, \u00a0 and a celebration of “American Values”. \u00a0There are cook-outs, \u00a0and fireworks.<\/div>\n
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Yet, when I look at the holiday, \u00a0it feels more hollow than usual this year. \u00a0 I look at the path that America was put on by the election of the SCROTUS in November. \u00a0I look at the unbridled hate expressed by so many for those who are different from them. \u00a0 I look at the physical violence that is on the rise. \u00a0 I look at the way America’s reputation in the world has been swept away, and replaced with one of a ship of fools, \u00a0captained by a thin-skinned, \u00a0vindictive madman with the emotional maturity of a five year old. \u00a0 It brings me to weep.<\/div>\n
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The current administration \u00a0has appointed heads of departments whose ONE job is to dismantle and destroy those departments. \u00a0 DeVoss, \u00a0the head of the Department of Education, \u00a0is a proponent and big investor in Charter schools. \u00a0 These private institutions \u00a0make a ton of money for their investors, \u00a0and, \u00a0as studies have shown<\/a> \u00a0do a rather worse job than the public school system at educating our children.\u00a0 \u00a0 One wonders if by simply improving the funding for public schools, and providing more support for the poorly performing schools, \u00a0the ones that drag down the averages could not be brought up to provide a good education. \u00a0 \u00a0One other issue I have with Charter Schools and the reports claiming they do so much better \u00a0a job is that Charter Schools cherry pick their students. \u00a0 They, \u00a0unlike the Public School system \u00a0do NOT have to take all comers. \u00a0They can skim off the best of the best…which will, naturally, \u00a0pump up their scores.<\/div>\n
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The EPA is under attack too. \u00a0 The administration is writing Executive Orders to roll back Clean Water and Air regulations. \u00a0The EPA’s attempts to monitor and regulate industry, to keep America from turning into a stinking, \u00a0industrial wasteland are being killed by the head of the Department.<\/div>\n
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Speaking of industrial wastelands, \u00a0 the administration is pushing to cut back the size of various national monuments, parks and sacred sites. \u00a0Why? \u00a0because there may be valuable minerals or oil under them and Industry, \u00a0like the horde of locusts it is, \u00a0wants to sweep through and rape the land for a little profit. \u00a0 These places are the crown jewels of America, \u00a0and a huge tourist draw for people around the world. \u00a0There appears to be a move afoot to allow loggers into the Sequoia National Forest…which will mean that we will see toothpicks made from majestic trees that have been growing longer than America has been in existence.<\/div>\n
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The tragedy goes on and on, alas. \u00a0 To top it off, \u00a0the Republicans continue to show contempt for the vast majority of citizens. \u00a0 Craig Christie, \u00a0Governor of New Jersey for example, \u00a0has offended many with this closing many state beaches and facilities to public use, \u00a0due to a budget conflict. \u00a0 However, \u00a0as these pictures demonstrate, \u00a0“the Public” does not include the Governor and his family<\/div>\n
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All that having been said (and with these, I have just skimmed the top of the cess pool), \u00a0America does retain much of its greatness, \u00a0and SHOULD be celebrated. \u00a0 Most Americans are still polite, \u00a0friendly folks who will make room for a stranger, and treat them well. \u00a0 For example, \u00a0here is a picture from \u00a0a New York Subway…The photographer who took it, Jackie Summers, \u00a0pointed out that he, a Taoist, \u00a0had moved so a Hasidic couple could sit together, \u00a0and, \u00a0that couple had scooted over to make room for a Muslim woman to nurse her baby. \u00a0 That is what America is all about…accepting diversity, and making room for it. \u00a0 We are not the hateful, \u00a0angry, \u00a0reactionaries who are causing the violence and hate.<\/div>\n
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Do you want to really Celebrate the Fourth of July as an embodiment of what is best about America? \u00a0 Take a moment to do a kindness to a stranger. \u00a0 Rescue a companion animal that is in danger of dying either in a shelter or on the street. \u00a0 When you get lunch at a restaurant, \u00a0see if they provide contributed meals to the needy and homeless. \u00a0If so…contribute the cost of your lunch towards that fund. \u00a0 If you see someone who is sad and feeling lonely, \u00a0invite them to the cookout. \u00a0 If you have a friend who you have not seen in \u00a0a while…touch base with them…invite THEM to the cookout! \u00a0 Simply take a moment to do something kind \u00a0without expecting thanks or a reward. Walk away from a political argument online. \u00a0 \u00a0It will honor you and America.<\/div>\n
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“Give me your tired, your poor,<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free;<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
Send these, the homeless,Tempest-tossed to me<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
(inscribed on The Statue of Liberty)<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
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God Help America<\/div>\n
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Bee Man Dave<\/div>\n
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Greetings and Salutations; As the midnight hour passed this morning, \u00a0and the 4th of July celebration began, \u00a0it struck me… Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,6,386,9,11,12,13,18],"tags":[720,717,719,721,318,718],"class_list":["post-1297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethics","category-general","category-general-thoughts","category-humanity","category-observations","category-politics-2","category-questionable-decisions","category-something-good-this-way-comes","tag-crown-jewels","tag-fourth-of-july","tag-industry","tag-scrotus","tag-society","tag-statue-of-liberty-poem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1297"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2451,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297\/revisions\/2451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}