Team America slogged through a tough Fourth of July. We were mostly blue (as in down in the dumps) during our celebration of the red, white and blue.
North Korea’s madman Kim Jong-un stole a good deal of our Fourth of July thunder, scoring big time in the pyrotechnics category with the successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of taking out parts of Alaska.
A master of timing, Kim thoughtfully called the launch “a package of gifts” for “American bastards” on their Independence Day.
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Note to Kim: a barbeque or some apple pie would have been more suitable gifts.
Our big show, the Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza, paled in comparison to Kim’s special event, limping to the top in the TV ratings game against a motley collection of summer re-runs.
NBC reported that ratings for the New York fireworks spectacular were less so, down 600K viewers from last year.
Those “lost” viewers may have turned off their TV sets to contemplate President Trump’s strategy in dealing with the North Korean psychopath. And then again…
The nation’s sour mood became evident earlier in the day, extending to the Declaration of Independence.
National Public Radio’s traditional on-air reading of the Declaration on July 4 ran afoul of some patriots who somehow believe that our nation’s founding document possesses anti-Trumpian tones.
NPR, which tweeted the entire Declaration in 140-character bits riled Twitter fans who felt the public broadcaster was calling for a revolution.
Some sample tweets:
“So, NPR is calling for revolution. Interesting way to condone the violence while trying to sound ‘patriotic.’ Your implications are clear….
“Let the Hollywood Elites pay for your biased propaganda….
“Seriously, this is the dumbest idea I have ever seen on twitter. Literally no one is going to read 5,000 tweets about this trash….
“Glad you are being defunded. You have never been balanced on your show.”
And so it went. The Declaration was caught up in our poisonous political climate.
And speaking of Twitter: Axios reported July 4 that 64 percent of adults disapprove of President Trump’s use of Twitter.
His tweets are considered undignified (47 percent), mean (34 percent), entertaining (26 percent) and presidential (seven percent).
Will Trump heed the wishes of the majority of the American people? He hasn’t so far.
Here’s to a better Fourth of July in 2018!
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