The Fourth of 'Uly

Part I:

I would like to wish everyone a Happy of Fourth of July. Would like to, but I am not sure I can. Certainly, I hope everyone I know (and don't know) has a fantastic day... but I have issues condoning uber-patriotism. My mind is not made up about it, yet, but I can't fully endorse any country or its inherent propaganda, as much as some of it is earnest and wholly agreeable to me. Additionally, I feel a strong loyalty to nations like England, France, and Norway... and it is difficult to reconcile these by saying that America is better. Now, don't get me wrong, I love America. Or at least significant parts of it, and particularly in the post-Bushian state we currently see it operating (imperfect, but infinitely more promising). I love the sense of limitless possibility on which I was raised, the so-called 'All-American' ideals that you can be whatever you want and that everyone is imbued with those certain 'unalienable rights'. These ideals may not be the reality, but as I have been dutifully trained, I value them. I strive to uphold (though not impose them ruthlessly abroad with brash neo-imperialistic agendas). But I don't really like any particular state, nation, or government in its entirety. I prefer a culturally-respectful cross-national view of the world that doesn't pigeonhole individuals by geographically arbitrary political boundaries. If it's meant to be "us" versus "them" I prefer to see the "we". 

Part II:

Is this the face of a writer?

Maybe. But I do know for a fact that it is, in fact, my face. And a highlighter pressed with easy deliberation against my cheek in an effort to make it look like I am more productive than I am. To be honest, however, I have actually been very busy. And, though this may be cringingly self-indulgent, I am also a writer. Well, alright, there are a lot of definitions of that word and I've fit some of them since I was four, but no, what I mean here and now is that I have written something that people might actually see, read, and if I am lucky, enjoy. A film review. On a legitimate website which publishes amongst many legitimate (a subjective word if ever there was) items reviews, like mine. It is only a little 490-word piece about a relatively obscure (to most everyone I know at least) French film, but it is there. And when you google me, it appears. And while I refuse to laud myself for every minor success in life, I would like to offer myself a congratulatory handshake (this is an awkward thing to offer yourself) as this has the potential to be a stepping stone to other, even more productive, things. I hope most sincerely that I am not jinxing it, but I cannot withhold my excitement, and even if it stands as the lone piece of semi-professional internet writing I ever accomplish, it is there. It has a URL. And they even gave the piece a screenshot for visual effect.