Correcting July 4

     During the holiday weekend, Lewis and I dined at a lovely restaurant.  As seen above, I was dressed in a red, white, and blue color-scheme during July 4.  In the USA, that day is supposed to be celebrated for the nation's independence from the British Empire.  However--just like Thanksgiving and Memorial Day--America's capitalistic forces perverted it to only focus on overconsumption and consumerism.  Few citizens consider their independence.  

     One buffoon congratulated my outfit because of its "patriotic colors".  The restaurant's waitress cutely reminded the man that those same colors might indicate her Balkan homeland: Serbia.  The uneducated American (most don't know the locations of other countries and can't pronounce their names) retaliated by saying, "No, only the USA has those colors."  Lewis reminded him that the United Kingdom also had them.  The man replied, "That doesn't count."  Looking him squarely in the eyes, I informed him that red, white, and blue are also the national colors of the continent of Australia, Chile, Taiwan (Republic of China), the Czech and Dominican Republics, the Kingdoms of Thailand and the Netherlands, the island-nations of Samoa and Fiji, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Russia, France, the Polynesian nation of New Zealand, and the Himalayan country of Nepal.  Dumbfounded and uncomprehending, the man backed away.  Another "learning opportunity" was lost by a small-minded fool.

     While on the topic of clarifying American heritage, here is something else that historians urge to be properly taught.

     It’s not admitted by most Americans, but the USA didn't win its Revolutionary War on its own.  It barely won and relied heavily on the Kingdoms of France and Spain, along with Dutch finances.  The Kingdom of France played an essential role in the USA winning its War of Independence from Great Britain.  Until the French king sent military officers, troops, battle supplies, ships, and monetary aid—which was the tipping-point to bankrupting his nation—the American revolutionaries did not fight the British.  Instead of fending off their enemy, the colonial Americans spent the first two years using avoidance tactics, evaded battles, and had minor skirmishes as they moved around.  There weren’t any great tactical maneuvers until the French sustained them.  Next, the Kingdom of Spain played a significant role when its king sent fleets and armies to attack the British and use its ports in Central America to funnel supplies to the colonialists.  They also guarded French ports, so French troops could sail north and aid the revolutionaries.  

     France anticipated being a mercantile trade-partner with the new nation, but the USA merely inflamed France's debt (causing one-third of it) and helped topple the effete monarchy.  Shocking the world, the USA actually decided to make Great Britain its trade-partner, which pacified the English aristocrats and businesses.  (American students aren't taught that about their history, but America double-crossed its allies and befriended its former enemy, Britain).  Soon after, the USA did not reciprocate or provide support for France's war with Britain.  When it had military power, the USA seized land from Spain.  We all know how America treated the Native Americans--regardless if they supported the colonists or sided with the British.

     Alas, in its infancy, the USA promoted an image that it retains.