It’s July 4th, which means millions of people across the United States are waving red, white, and blue flags; launching off fireworks; and feeling patriotic. I will be partaking in the ritual of blowing shit up because such a ritual should be practiced every day but I will not be celebrating my patriotism as I have none.
But in the spirit of Independence Day I will take a moment to reflect on how I’ve made myself more independent. Years ago I moved my cloud services to my personal cloud. I am no longer reliant in Google for my e-mail, calendaring, and address book as I host all of those services on my own system. When I say my own system I mean my own system. My server is sitting in my dwelling, not on a rack in a data center located somewhere I’ve never heard of. I’m still living within my means, which means I have no debt and can declare myself independent of the banking cartel. Although I’m no model of physical perfection I do exercise regularly and try to eat healthy so I’ve been able to keep myself independent of the pharmaceutical industry that grips this nation with an iron fist. I carry a firearm, which allows me to protect myself and those I care about instead of relying on, and hoping that, the police to keep me and mine safe.
Waiving flags and declaring your love for Big Brother is no way to celebrate a holiday called Independence Day. If you want to do the holiday justice celebrate by making yourself more independent. Even little things like learning to brew beer or repair your means of transportation can make you a more independent person.
Have a great Independence Day and try not to blow yourself up.