Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Fourth of July!

Whether you look with some cynicism on this day we celebrate the birth of our nation--this nation that is among the last developed nations to embrace capital punishment, that ranks 37th in a World Health Organization ranking of health care systems (below Columbia and Malta), 

this nation where we are actually still debating whether the use of birth control is acceptable, where the inexorable rightward shift of the past few decades has got us carrying guns in national parks and allowing unprecedented amounts of corporate money to flow toward whichever political candidate pledges to most generously reward the investment--

or whether you see something still to celebrate in America's vast open spaces that enjoy at least some degree of protection, in the highly politicized Supreme Court's upholding of Obamacare, which represents a small step toward the health care sanity that prevails in most other industrialized nations, in the growing number of Americans who are waking up to the scientific consensus that global warming is upon us,





enjoy your day off! Use the day to celebrate with friends, enjoy some healthy, rich, all-American barbecued tempeh or fried tofu in peanut sauce, and give your pups some extra love and a safe place to ride out the explosions. 

If your dog is afraid of fireworks, take a look at the helpful suggestions at fearfuldogs.com for getting through the day. Remember, there is no harm in comforting a scared dog. If your dog is afraid of loud noises, make sure she has a safe, comforting space where she can be while the fireworks go on. Try using a Thundershirt or anxiety wrap, some TTouch, and ask her for tricks and other enjoyable behaviors if she is calm enough to do them. 

And if you are one of those most patriotic of Americans who believes that constructive dissent is at the very foundation of our country, don't be afraid to show your independence by rocking the boat a bit!

13 comments:

  1. A most engaging 4th of July post! I'm impressed you have barbecued tempeh. Love fried tofu in peanut sauce. I assume its tofu stuffed with fresh vege :) have a great day! X

    ReplyDelete
  2. Enjoy the holiday! Love that cartoon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yep, I too bring some cynicism to this patriotic holiday. But I'm thankful to live in a country where we can have a peaceful change of government every four years. It's not a privilege I take lightly.

    Hope you have a lovely and quiet day with the ones you love.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Kirsten, our country is a little off "normal" too. Well, at least my kind of "normal". We wish all Americans and their loved ones, some peace and contentment. We wish you well.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy Holiday to our southern neighbours! I smiled at your post, just about everywhere around the world is a bit wonky right now. Hang on to and celebrate compassion (our highest quality), empathy and integrity regardless of where you reside and the day will be great and the future bright.

    Pats to the pups!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy 4th of July!!

    The Florida Furkids and Lexi

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just Be The Dog Kirsten. I love it!

    I'm grateful I live in a country where I can disagree with the choices my politicians are making and am not persecuted for them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy 4th of July

    Stop on by for a visit
    Kari
    http://www.dogisgodinreverse.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy Independence Day! Hope you and yours had a fantastically fun holiday! And hope your dogs were not afraid of the fireworks and handled the excitement o.k., especially Pager.

    Tempeh and peanut sauce sounds delicious!

    Suka and K

    ReplyDelete
  10. Climate change is real.

    But we need to stop calling it global warming.

    That's because as soon we get big snowstorm in the winter--which actually can be linked to climate change-- some wag on Fox News will say "Whatever happened to global warming?"

    This is the biggest threat our species has ever faced, and the US is doing virtually nothing about it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.