Good Riddance to the Fireworks

Patriot Month is almost done, and this lil combat veteran is ready for the fireworks to stop.

Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash

I don’t want this to be about, “my poor PTSD. I don’t like loud noises.”
This is me, Sisy Bones, being too cynical and jaded to celebrate this shithole of a country. To be clear, I’m a literal patriot. Not an extremist militia member, not a brainwashed evangelical, not a jackass driving his flag collection around town.
I'm not a neo-nazi screaming, "I aLmOsT jOiNeD tHe MiLiTaRy," at paintball games. I actually did the thing, from boot camp to honorable discharge.

I’m a patriot because I believe this country could be the greatest land on Earth.
That doesn’t change the fact that it’s currently a shithole.

I was brought to this country with the dream of ‘something better for the future’. Then I joined the U.S. Navy and bled for this country. I’ve watched others die for this country.
I was even the token 2nd amendment champion during my time in college. I seriously felt like no one should have a say in how I choose to arm myself. I’m trained, after all, and I couldn’t imagine how anyone else wouldn’t be trained. Or screened. Or even have a background check done.
Now I’m more than awake to the reality that we’ve gone way too far in the last decade. We have an astronomical number of weapons in this country. Today some dick wagon pulled a gun on two women, for not thanking him when he held open a door. Why is that barely a blip on my news radar?

I’m sick of the violence. There’s no reason to celebrate This Great Nation™ with fireworks while so many people are suffering. It’s like trying to use a birthday cake to distract from a bar fight.

We should’ve re-written this experiment back in 2021, when a pack of fascists incited an insurrection.
Or in 2018 when we still cared about school shootings.
Or in 2016 when we elected a Putin-fellating ditch troll as president.
Or in 2002 when we continued our proud, storied tradition of illegally invading another country.

I have no idea how we can fix this, but I’m desperately hoping someone has a plan. Meanwhile I’ll keep yelling into Nietzche’s void until it gets sick of my bullshit.
Be better to each other. We still have a chance.