This might come off as whinging.

Independence Day. I got loaded up on alot of political commentary; first I saw the new awesome "Wall*e" today, I loved it, and it made me cry (more than once). Aside from the adorable story, I walked out of the theatre resolute in my budding ideas about the necessity of saving the environment. I know it's not something I can do myself, and I'll really have to wean myself from my own horrid behaviours, but I can take small steps to improve. My soul felt quasi-explosive in the knowledge that going back to Nature is imperative.

Then, political discussions with the in-laws. They are really rather conservative, something I've strayed from in recent years. (I'm closest to Libertarian.) I kept my mouth shut on the majority of my personal views but I think I played a pretty good Devil's Advocate. Just sometimes it's best to pick your battles.

The thought invaded my mind more than once, throughout all of the day and into the evening, that this nation is in denial as a whole. Some more than others, and some less than others, but for the most part, living in sweet ignorance, and loving it. I don't like that we celebrate 04 July for independence when Americans raped, pillaged and subjugated other peoples in order to build this amazing nation only to discriminate against them hundreds of years later. I don't like what America is doing now and (sadly) I don't like alot of what America stands for anymore. I seem to run into so many who are unforgivably selfish. I'm not an idiot, I know that man is selfish by nature but there has to be some give, somewhere. America is so utterly dependent on others for everything: oil, fashion, vehicles, alcohol, school teachers, diamonds, textiles, computers, medicine, foods, electronics, weaponry, farm workers...the list is excruciatingly long. We get it elsewhere because we can, no matter that our nation's children are growing up stupid and incorrigible. No matter that the American dollar is beyond weak. No matter that America is so used to being a massive world power and bullying other nations around, and now we have lost the world's respect.

America is my home. I don't feel at home here sometimes, but it is my home nonetheless. I love the ideals that America was originally founded upon (though it wasn't perfect then, either). I see the decline, however, and it's been for awhile, and I'm not the only one. We're losing freedoms and the people are placated by promises of safety. We're consistently spending more than we have. We're arrogant and try to force our ideals and politics on sovereign nations. We don't think of consequences because we've never really had to deal with them before. In our minds, America is sacred, immortal, just, righteous. I can't help but to think that perhaps the people thought the same about the Roman Empire once upon a time.