From one of my blogs....
It's time for my annual fourth of July rant. Now, I like July 4th as much as any normal teenage male. There is nothing quite as patriotic as blowing up a piece of some country like China, Mexico, or Korea to celebrate how badass your country is. I derive further enjoyment from this practice because it's a big screw you to lame-ass nannycrats, who, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that me blowing up crap is illegal because they're afraid that dumbasses will hurt themselves. NEWSFLASH: Dumbasses have always hurt themselves, with or without fireworks. It's called NATURAL SELECTION! But I digress.
Why do we celebrate July 4th as Independence Day? I recall in elementary school, I was told that the Declaration of Independence was signed on that date in 1776. All you people who took AP US History should recall, however, that the document wasn't signed by the Continental Congress until August 2, 1776. And wait... not everyone signed it by then. In a later history class, I was told that July 4th was when the document was sent off to good 'ole King George. That's absurd because not everyone signed it then. In yet another class, I was told that July 4, 1776 was the date of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Umm... no... that was April 17, 1775. In yet another grade, I was told that July 4th was the date when the Continental Congress adopted the Lee Resolution, which stated that the colonies were independent. Well... that's the closest I got in school. That date was actually July 2nd.
Ok, so what actually happened on July 4th? It sounds pretty mundane. That's when the Continental Congress said they were happy with the version of the Declaration of Independence they had and they sent it off to the printer. It was actually finished the day before. How lame. In my opinion, April 17, August 2nd, and July 2nd are all better choices for Independence Day. Of course, I'd be arguing with the Continental Congress, who made July 4th Independence Day. Pfft. A bunch of old white dead guys. What do they know about the independence of the USA? :-P
