Happy Fourth of July

It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.
--Sir Winston Churchill

Happy birthday, America. This is not a perfect experiment, but it's a very worthy one. And it's still in process; when we forget that, that's when we get in trouble.

Happy 4th! Have a Blog Post

Happy Fourth of July. You know, I am often despairing and unhappy with the way my country is run, and with the way we behave as a nation and as citizens. But I love it, I think it is capable of great things, and I am happy the union has survived another year. May it be full of the action of our best impulses.

Meanwhile, over at madeleinerobins.com, I've got some musings on the joy and peril of writing by discovery (which seems to be the way I do it most of the time).

May your festivities be full of color and sound--but not enough to scare your pets.