Ladies and gentlemen....show a little respect for your country!

Happy 4th of July ladies and gentlemen.  Yep, we are half way through the summer ALREADY.  And it is time again to celebrate our independence day.  You will be happy to know that I took a highly scientific facebook quiz today to test my knowledge of American history and they considered me a true patriot.  Apparently I paid attention during high school social studies class.....or maybe it is just because I watched the mini series on John Adams.

So recently I went to Blues Fest here in Chicago in Grant Park.  I had an opportunity to hear Aaron Neville, who was great by the way.  Before the show started, they had a woman sing the national anthem.  NOW, I know you all know that when someone sings the national anthem, you are supposed to stand up and take your hat off right?  Well let me tell you about the woman I observed during the national anthem.  First of all, she was a good 75-100 pounds overweight.  Her chair was struggling. She was by herself, and when they started to sing, she didn't even attempt to stand up and continued to EAT during the entire anthem.  HUH?  Ladies and gentlemen seriously, I don't care if you don't like our president, our government, our policies, etc.  Your utter disrespect for our national anthem is thumbing your nose at our founding fathers, our soldiers and all of the people that have died or are working tirelessly to give you the freedom to SIT and eat during the national anthem.  Get your LARGE bootie out of the chair and show some respect.

Additionally, the woman in front of me allowed her children to run in circles around her blanket during the national anthem.  Now, I understand they are kids, but lady, please....tell them to settle down and be quiet.  NEVER too early to teach proper respect.

OH and people of Chicago, when they sing the national anthem ANYWHERE outside the United Center and the Blackhawks are NOT playing, please put your hands down, don't scream while it is being sung.  For crying out loud, Blues Fest is not a sporting event, calm down.

So ladies and gentlemen seriously, our independence day is around the corner.  And in light of the holiday I thought this was an appropriate topic.  Show some respect for our country.  We may have our issues in this country, but it is still one of the greatest places in the world to live.  And by respecting our national anthem and our flag, you are at minimum respecting our armed forces, our founding fathers and the principles upon which our country was founded.

OH yeah, and gentlemen seriously (I know it is guys because women would never do this), stop lighting off those DAMN firecrackers.  They are stupid and loud.  And you might blow your finger off. My dog gets scared of them and I lay awake every 4th of July listening to those crazy things vibrate in the alleys in Chicago.  Grow up.  Firecrackers do not SAY hey Happy 4th of July America...they SAY, F off to everyone who lives in a 10 block radius.

ONE LAST thing....World Cup soccer is in full swing.  And the US team is doing well.  I am thoroughly impressed with the support our nation is giving to our team, especially since most people have never watched a soccer game in their life.  If you are not a soccer fan, that is fine, don't watch the games, watch the games, I don't really care.... BUT be respectful of the sport, the team and the fans, please.  The rest of the world has accepted soccer as a sport for A LOT longer than we have.  Be happy that our team USA is competing on a world level.

Ladies and gentlemen seriously, have a wonderful 4th of July holiday.  Eat, drink, be merry and stay classy!

....keep your heels, chin and standards high....
BONSOIR, CHEERS and CIAO BELLAS!