The Fourth of July

Good morning, America!

It's 8:15am in Jolly ol' England. Becca is walking to work and contemplating 'Murica. 

The last several Fourths of July have been a bit strange...I was in Egypt, then Israel, then working at The White House, and now England. 

The Fourth has always been an interesting holiday for me, given its proximity to my birthday. I celebrated more and less than the average American, given that I did a lot of things, but most of then were in the name of my birthday. Haha. 

In Egypt and Israel, the Fourth fell on days off. Today, I'm heading to a full day of work. The ex-pat community in Norwich is having a barbecue, as are the Marshall Scholars in London. I'll be giving the holiday a nod in "Ramblings", discussing patriotism and nationalism in the next few days. 

And tonight, I may just pull out "1776" and sing the making of the Declaration. (Nope, I lied - "Ragtime" it is. Which you should read and listen to if you don't know. Really good, and a powerful call to action against racism and classism.)

Anyways, wherever you are and whatever your feelings are concerning America, I hope you have a grand day filled with love and laughter. And spare a thought for the people in Egypt, Syria, and many, many other places around the world - including America - working today to try and create better and more just countries.