Talking 4th of July Patriotism with my Daughter

Veta Roots

My daughter called and asked me what I did for the 4th of July. ‘I went to work’.

Before asking her what she did, I mentioned the great events held in Chester, and the big concert in Philly, neither of which I could attend, but I did catch the Philly show on TV and some of the Chester events on YesGodTV via YouTube.

I told her about the one faux pas in Chester with the flags on the ground at the fashion show (see Where do we learn Flag Etiquette), and she did me one better as she described the events that disturbed her at the fireworks celebration at Stone Mountain, Georgia.

I couldn’t help but to laugh when she asked, "Who Reenacts Losing?" She went on to say...

“Do you reenact a painful divorce, no. Do you reenact losing a loved one, no. Do you reenact losing a payoff game, no. Do you reenact getting fired, no. 

“Only in the south do people get excited about reenacting losing a war. It’s one thing to put up a landmark, plaque, or memorial, but down here they blast ‘I Wish I were in Dixie’ while people scream and cheer to Civil War images and reenactments. 

“There’s no mention to why they ever went to war, but the slideshow of front line soldiers in authentic costumes with horses and muskets is replayed every year.”

In the end, she said that there is no better place to be on the 4th of July than in Philadelphia, the cradle of history. 

That’s my daughter.