The Forth of July is a time where patriotic feelings run high. Everyone shows up for the parade, watches some floats made by a 5th grade class go by, then a few Lions club, Nam Vets drives by smiling and waving to the crowd. Everyone is really happy. Its the birthday of their nation. And everyone knows that America is the best nation on earth, or is it?
America, the land of the free, a land where a man who forced thousands of Japanese into concentration camps (the American Fourth Reich?) is considered the best president the country ever had. America, the land where the man who killed thousands of Cherokee Indians is venerated by having his face printed on the twenty dollar bill. 
America, I believe, is the most corrupt industrialized nation on earth. Our politicians will use something as terrible as the death penalty to satisfy the American blood lust for death. People in our "great" nation love death, and vote for those who will supply it for them. The same thing with war. Do you really think that the Vietnam or Korean wars were necessary? Or how about gun control? People love guns, politicians love votes. And remember how tobacco companies bribed senators and congresspersyns when something about tobacco came up for debate in the house? The Federal sense of priorities, Votes first, companies next, the people (you and me) last.
Americans have a funny understanding of freedom. Soldiers who went off to Vietnam and killed civilians (ever hear of the My Lai Massacre?) are people who fought for our freedom. George Washington fought for our freedom, but what freedom? If the revolutionary war never happened, America would still be under British control. This, in my opinion, would have been a good thing. The English are much more civilized then Americans, the British have banned capital punishment, and are more pacifistic than the US. The British also have gun control. In 1993, less then 40 people died of gunshot wounds in England, compare that to 40,000 in the United States.
The only wars where our freedoms were really at stake were the Civil War, and W.W.II. The freedom of blacks was at stake in the Civil War, and The freedom of Jews was at stake in W.W.II. All other wars were shams, concocted by a tyrannical US Government to gain public support.
Historically, the US has not been the most helpful country in the world. Because the US forced Germany to pay referendums during W.W.I, Hitler was able to play on his peoples misfortunes and take power. And during the Vietnam War, The US secretly, and illegally bombed the neighboring country of Cambodia. The bombing helped the Khmer Rouge take power. The Khmer Rouge killed nearly two million people during their four year reign of terror. The Cambodia Holocaust was one of the worst in history, and was made possible with a grant from The US Government.
This is why I get mad when I see people being patriotic, because behind their patriotism is a legacy of murder, corruption and greed.
