There will always be skeptics of the American experiment. They reappear every July 4th to encourage us not to fly the flag or to embrace anything remotely patriotic, simply because America has a flawed history. It’s also a very popular view worldwide, that every world problem could be solved if it weren’t for those meddling Americans. Americans look at the state of affairs in Iraq, and wonder if we might just be better off as a nation if we just left the rest of the world to fend for itself, and left the terrorist punishment to Europe and the UN. It’s tempting to think that way, but we can’t give in to that impulse because there is still a terrorist threat to this country and we need to do all we can to prevent another attack.

These critics don’t seem to realize that being an American allows them to write pretty much anything they want to write, say just about anything they want to say, and do everything within the law to protest what they see as injustices. No one will come and throw them in jail or physically abuse them simply for having an unpopular opinion. That’s one of many things the United States offers to its citizens that can’t be found in too many Islamic-run nations. And yet the US is the one country getting the bulk of the criticism…

There’s something seriously wrong with that.

On a lighter note, there’s also something wrong with calling competitive eating a sport. The annual hot dog eating contest happened again this year, with plenty of overhyped rhetoric to go along with the gorge-fest. The most ridiculous statement came from NYC mayor and potential entrant into the presidential race Mike Bloomberg, who compared the Joey Chestnut – Kobyashi matchup to the one between Ali-Frazier. He is a silly man. Please run, Mayor Mike. Anyway, can we really call Chestnut’s win over Kobyashi an upset? Aren’t we taking this hot dog eating contest too seriously by providing commentary and play-by-play for it? It’s definitely entertaining….but come on…it’s just a bunch of people stuffing their faces with unhealthy food. We have seen this in real life too many times already at the family picnics. Should this really be on TV?
Tags: July 4th, hot dog eating contest, Kobyashi