When Sparks Fly 4th of July Blog Hop

It seems appropriate that as I write this, I'm listening to the soundtrack to 1776. I would so love to see this

live someday. I wish I could find a production using the movie cast, but alas that will never happen. Guess that's why we have DVD's lol  William Daniels, Howard daSilva, Ken Howard....how amazing would that be? And of course, I never think about watching the movie, or getting it from the library, until the night before when it's obviously too late. Even if I purchased it from Amazon, it wouldn't get here until after the fact.

But there you go.

So today is the 4th of July, America's birthday. Just think, if those people who chose to rebel against the king had not been successful, we'd all be speaking with an accent and singing a far different tune. After all, history is written by the winners. Thus it tends to be a little prejudiced.

This country isn't perfect, but which one is? None of them. Because all countries are made up of people and people just aren't perfect. But some countries are nicer to live in than others, depending on the people. This country has problems, undoubtedly, and it's not a simple matter of politics, because these problems exist no matter which party is in office. The system itself is not perfect, and it invites abuse, which some are quick to take advantage of. There are far too many people getting fat off the government, and politicians who work short hours for big pay, and have no idea of the real lives of their constituents.

On the other hand, there are the people who take advantage of government programs - families who live entirely on welfare and never attempt to do any better, cheaters and lazy asses. It burns me to see the ads from groups that offer to intervene between taxpayers who owe more than $10k and the IRS to get these taxes reduced. Does no one see a problem with that?  Pretend you are the government, and you expect to receive x amount of dollars for your revenue, and from that you plan your expenses. What happens when you don't get all the money you're owed? Do you do have to hold off on paying some of those bills? Real people do, yes, but somehow the government manages to spend what it doesn't have. So yes, not paying your taxes is problematic for all of us. So why do so many people think the name of the game is keep money away from the IRS? Have you forgotten? The IRS is the government, and WE are the government. You only hurt everyone in the long run.

A great and wonderful thing happened recently. DOMA was struck one. Well, half a great thing. Because there is still part of it that has gone unchallenged (as a lawyer friend of mine explained to me, when I naively thought the problem was solved). Apparently they didn't tackle the crux of the matter - the part where gay marriage that is legal in one state is legal in all of them. That is what needs to happen, that's what I've always said.  The states that don't do so are blurring the lines between government and religion, and need to stop meddling in that way. Marriage is a civil and legal union. (These same people need to butt the hell out of matters concerning women's reproductive rights as well).

At least we are moving in the right direction at last. In years to come, students will study this time, and the turmoil this issue has caused, and they will look at one another and shrug and ask what the big deal was, because by that time it will simply be accepted as right and natural. The same way that interracial marriages, once illegal, and looked down upon, are very much a part of our society, and accepted by most people (except the die-hard bigots).

It's hard enough to run a family, with its diverse elements, much less a nation of millions, with people having their own ideas about the way things should be. The important thing is to respect one another, and to respect the rights of others. To feed the hungry, provide medical care to the sick, and shelter the homeless. Just think if we took all the monies and energies spent in the battle for equality on both sides and used them for these causes, what great good could be done? It's all well and good to help other nations, and I do think we should, but you have to take care of your own first.

There are things in this country that could benefit from change, such as the school systems, the prisons, and the government. But change takes time, these things did not break over night and they won't be fixed in a day. As long as we work at it together, we can get it done.

 In some countries, I could not even say such things about the powers that be, because these are freedoms that are denied to their citizens. Which is one of the great things about America. We have freedom of speech.

So Happy Birthday, America - you're looking good.

Today is the first day of the When Sparks Fly 4th of July Blog Hop. To visit the other members of the hop, go here For my part in this blog hop, I'm offering the following prizes: three winners will receive a copy of anything from my backlist, and one winner will receive a $10 Amazon GC.

How do you enter, you ask?  It's simple. Comment on this blog and tell me something about this country and what it means to you. Don't forget your email address, so I can contact you if you win.




This blog hop runs until the 8th. I'll announce the winners some time after that. Good luck and start hopping!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie.