Zel-kun’s Words

So Wednesday was Independence day here in America, celebrating the founding of our nation.  I happened to spend the day laying in bed sick, and even the next day doing the same.  This is part of the reason I haven’t been at the computer typing away.

Oddly enough, during this time, so many things happened that I doubt I could fill one post with it, so I might branch off and do a post or two later on today.  You have been warned.

So, Independence Day…

I’m not always the most patriotic of people.  I think our nation has a lot of problems, and our president is a warmongering dimwit.  I also look to the list of potential candidates for next year’s election and don’t see a whole lot of hope.  It’ll be better than what we have, but I’m not sure it’ll be what we NEED.  The nation needs someone who can wield both war and diplomacy equally.  I think there’s a lot of war in our future, unfortunately, and we need someone who can balance the foreign and domestic.

I’m not sure any of the canditates are capable of that, but maybe I’ll be proven wrong.  We can all hope.

So I am laying there in bed, watching the History Channel, because I recently discovered I have the History Channel.  Tuesday I spent most of the day watching a series on past presidents, and now I am watching a day-long marathon of this miniseries of the American Revolution.

It makes me realize how little I actually KNEW about the revolution, how ignorant I was about the founding of my own country.  Sure, I learned about it in school, but I realize now that I was taught incorrect information.  I was taught myth and folklore, I knew nothing about the actual conflict (WARNING: History content coming up).

1. I was taught the war was started over tea taxes, and we rebelled.  Never made a lot of sense to me, but I was a student and believed what I was told.

I find that years of absurd taxes on nearly everything, along with no governmental represenation on Britain’s part led to the dissentian.  This is added to the fact that the colonial population were treated as second-class citizen’s in the British Empire.

2. The Declaration of Independence was signed in a large ceremony, after they won the war.

The Declaration of Independence was signed in secret (July 4, 1776), by people who were nearly certain they’d be hanged for treason.  This act led to the American Revolution.

3. Benjamin Franklin invented a stove and some glasses and discovered electricity.

Yeah, that’s cool and all.  He did, in fact, do those things.  But he also played a key role in the relations between the colonies and Britain, and was also the one who convinced France to finance and lend their navy to the war.  Many people don’t realize that without France, there is a very good possibility we would have lost.

Okay, done with my bit o’ history.  But I spent about nine hours watching this documentary, which described in detail how the colonies came to rebel, and the ensuing conflict.  Some of the stories within were amazing.  The strategies and preparedness of a militia force were unbelievable.

Anyhow, it taught me just how this country was founded, and it made me a little bit patriotic this Fourth.  So happy birthday America, and here’s hoping the next administration will be better.

Zel-kun out.