An American Patriot in Communist China

U.S. Flag, Bald Eagle, and the Declaration of Independence.

Today, I find myself trying to celebrate the 4th of July while living by myself in Communist China.  Today is just a normal day for most Chinese.  I wish I could be surrounded by images like the above.  Instead, this is what I see at the nearest major intersection:

Southeast Corner of Changjiang Lu & Wangzhuang Lu

It's been up there for a week or so.  As you can imagine, this makes me feel a little homesick.  Clearly, they are celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party.  I have that on good authority.  I don't know what the exact date of the anniversary is, or what historical event they are dating it from.

I do, however, know what I am celebrating today.  On July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, which outlined the reasons why they were separating the colonies from Great Britain.

To celebrate, I put an American flag on my desktop and screensaver, since I'm sure I can't find a cloth flag to buy here.  I read the Declaration of Independence aloud, from my Kindle.  I'm also reading Common Sense by Tomas Paine, as much as I have time for, and I have The Federalist Papers in reserve in case I need more reading material.  I also have a DVD that I bought, "Special Ops" with A.J. Draven and Steven Bauer, which claims to be "a story about a true American patriot."  I was looking for "Independence Day" or "Born on the 4th of July", but this was the closest I could find at the Korean DVD store.

I also sent an e-mail to A., explaining briefly the significance of this date.  I attached the text of the Declaration of Independence.  I invited her out to celebrate with me, I don't know if she'll be able to go.

I would be listening to patriotic music, but my mp3 collection is unaccountably scanty in that area.  I did find a music video on YouTube, and, after waiting a while for it to buffer, I was able to watch and listen to it.  I include it here for your benefit.  God bless the U.S.A.!