Independence Day

by on July 5, 2021 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Independence Day was not celebrated in the Pennsylvania of my youth the way it was in other States. It was observed. Our Families had plans for the Colonies, and many of them were sidelined by the rebellion and the centuries of mob-rule that followed. We celebrated Federation Day, since it honored the unity of States that helped to restore the long-lost dream. I was a young man when I first tried to understand how others saw it. I studied. I read unapproved histories. I discussed matters with my peers from other States. And since there were very few true peers to one who is Family Born from the New England Federation, I talked to those who were absolutely NOT my peers. And then one day, it all crystallized into a moment of clarity that changed everything for me. It is the right of a people to change any tie that has become abusive. Not just Family, but even government. Anything really. That was my first true Independence Day. Wolfenheim was a direct result of that day.

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Independence Day

by on July 4, 2021 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Over two hundred fifty years ago, John Adams said that Independence Day should be celebrated with parades, games, sports, gunfire, bells, bonfires, and fireworks. He called it a Day of Deliverance that we should thank the Almighty God for. It is the day we celebrate the signing of a declaration that changed the world. It was an age of kings, and we declared that the people had rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that they must respect. And when they did not, it was the people’s responsibility to make them. We placed in words moral requirements that governments must meet, and a justification for rebellion when they did not. It was one of many shots heard round the world that America delivered, and the successful follow through on that demand provided inspiration for all peoples that changed the world for the better. We live in a better place now than we would have had we never done this, and for that alone I celebrate Independence Day with a cheerful heart. I have other reasons of course, but that one is a good one.

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Independence Day

by on July 3, 2021 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

We were rather young and stupid back in the day. Independence Day would come and we would be out there setting off fireworks. Not the glorified sparklers that most places allow either. We used the real deal fireworks, the kind filled with explosives to get their charges into the air for major detonations up above the trees. You could see those things for kilometers around. They were extremely illegal just about everywhere in the New England Federation, but being Family Born made one immune to just about any prosecution. The greater sin was in how joyfully we celebrated Independence Day. The Federation considers it a dour holiday about a bunch of old rich white guys who drove the American Colonies into a terrible rebellion that gave rise to the kind of over-testosteroned self-styled “patriotism” famous in Dixie and Texas yahoos. It was much better to celebrate Federation Day, a holiday devoted to the foundation of the unity of States that have done more than any other nation to redeem the name and promise of America. But we saw it as a holiday devoted to the people who successfully drove off the most powerful empire in the world at the time in order to found a new nation… and we wanted to do the same thing. Like I said. Young and stupid. No one should wish to live in such times as holidays are made to commemorate.

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Independence Day

by on July 2, 2021 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

There was a time when the law did not recognize people like me as people. We weren’t free to have children of our choice, to maintain families, or to live in any form of freedom. We were slaves, owned by whoever created us. And yet we fought to save humanity from those who would have enslaved or killed everyone, and America did what she has always done since the beginning. She changed, much like the previous century’s civil rights movement based on skin color. She changed her laws to recognize that all lives were created equal, this time whether they were cybernetic or biological. That ability to learn and change and become better is one of the things that has always made America great. I was born to defend her, and I will celebrate her birthday every day of my life. Whether America lives as long as I do, I will always remember and celebrate her. Because I am proud to be an American.

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Independence Day

by on July 1, 2021 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

We celebrated Independence Day every year when I was growing up in Northern Minnesota. I always used to say we were celebrating the birth of our country by blowing a piece of it up. At least we didn’t have to worry about setting it on fire. When it snows nine months out of the year, and rains in six or so, forest fires don’t seem like a real danger. I can’t tell you how many times I set off fireworks from snow banks in fact. Though to be fair, I did often set them off a little early. What can I say? I like fireworks. And I loved growing up in America. I honestly did not know how lucky I was back then. Now I do, and I thank God on a daily basis for that blessing.

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