Happy 4th

A friend told me the other day that he was a little surprised that I regularly hang a flag in front of my house. I think that sometimes because I can be a little critical about consumerism and american global arrogance and extreme right wing politics (and extreme left-wing politics as well), and war that I'm not very patriotic. But I am. Now I'm not "cheesy-patriotic" (I think this is pretty self-explanatory), and I'm not uncritically patriotic, and I don't like people suggesting that if I'm anti-the-Bush-white-house-and-foreign-policy that I'm unpatriotic. So here's my patriotic manifesto: First and foremost, I am the citizen of a much larger kingdom, inagurated by Jesus, that will someday overwhelm every kingdom of this world. But within that context I am thankful to have been born in a place that values freedom -- even for cynics, critics and those that disagree -- sometimes loudly and passionately. I'm thankful for those that have died to protect our freedoms. I'm thankful to be a part of a country where it's okay to HATE Lee Greenwood, but love America deeply. I'm thankful to have been born in a place where ANYONE can achieve,

based on merit and where there's a place for everyone. Having said that...here's the Dean family, waiting for the fireworks to start.