One of the joys of blogging is that every time I make an unintentional mistake my readers can leave a comment to inform me of the error of my ways. So today I've decided to write something deliberately littered with rather more slips and inconsistencies than usual so that you can take pleasure in pointing them all out. Come on you pedants, feel free to open up that comments box and tell me how wrong I am...
Independence Day
Democracy was born on Thursday July 4th 1776. That was the day 330 years ago when, with a single document, America's founding fathers claimed their independence from England. Amongst the signatories were future presidents Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, as well as representatives from all 50 states. The Declaration of Independence enshrines 3 truths at the heart of the US constitution. All men and women are created equal, they have unalienable God-given rights, and bombing Iraq is allowed so long as it brings Liberty and makes Americans happy.
This egalitarian birth gave the new United States a special place in the world - more important than everybody else by virtue of their equality. As a God-fearing nation America has always preached tolerance and freedom for all - just so long as their behaviour doesn't contravene certain carefully-selected verses of the Book of Leviticus. And with only a handful of native Red Indians as breeding stock, the original US population had to be built up through a longterm program of immigration. Even today Congress strives to ensure that all would-be immigrants are warmly welcomed to the land of the free (unless they're foreign, of course).
No country on earth strives more for democracy, or makes better films, or cooks better doughnuts. Nowhere are waistlines larger, or fears of global warming smaller. No country in the World Series is more talented at football. No world language is more important, or political system more representative. Indeed John Stewart of The Daily Show is the funniest man who ever lived and and his pointed political satires have ribtickling relevance to us all. We cannot afford to ignore America, nor would they ever want us to.
I believe that the special relationship between the US and UK has it's roots in that first Declaration of Independance, born on the fourth of July. Most of this document is spent lambasting King George II as a evil tyrant, guilty of keeping the free men of the New World under permanent subjugation. Is it any coincidence therefore that our spineless Prime Minister continues to uphold tradition by conceding power and soveriegnty to the Bush administration across the Atlantic? I think not, QED.
We have less rights with every passing day, and fewer time to put things right. How long will it be before Britons start pledging allegiance to the Star Spangled Banner, or abandon cricket for base-ball, or start spelling 'colour' with a 'u'? The UK needs to get up off of the floor and end this all-pervasive American influence. We must cast off the shackles of liberty through the signing of our own UK Declaration of Independence, and at the earliest possible opportunity. It is a truth self-evident.
