Denmark is a Prison

When I was growing up the Fourth of July signaled the end of summer for me. I knew that the back to school ads would start to flood the television and soon plans would be made to buy new clothes. Back then I was a Garanimals kind of guy when it came to clothes. There would be some kind of animal tag on a shirt and a pair of pants would have the same tag on it. On one level it was mix and match for the fashion sense challenged. More importantly it was a sign of pure marketing genius, because it pleased both mothers and sons.

I've seen this back to school shopping with mom motif beaten to death on more than one sitcom. Common scenes include the mom asking the son if there is enough room in the crotch or the door of the dressing room opening when some cute girl walks by. Sometimes this concept is transformed into the wife dressing her inept husband for some important social event. The laugh track is applied liberally when these scenes are aired.

I'll stop here, because television is far too easy of a target for me.

Now the Fourth of July holds even less meaning for me. I have never been an overly patriotic person so all of the parades and such do nothing for me. I don't fly a flag or set off fireworks. In my mind its just another day. Oh, I can appreciate some of the freedoms that I have as an American citizen, but politics in general has never really held any interest for me. Politics means money and power, neither of which I have in large amounts nor do I strive for them in my life.

My understanding is that most of what was written for the country over two hundred years ago really doesn't apply today. The founding fathers were creating a foundation for more of an agrarian society than a urban technological one. For instance, the right to bear arms has been twisted way beyond what was intended when they wrote the amendment. Still we carry on working under the misconception that we are following in their footsteps.

Part of the morning was spent reading my latest issue of National Geographic. Despite the sophomoric reputation the magazine has for showing naked women I still like to read it. The magazine gives me an opportunity to read about places that I may never see in person. This month's foreign locale was Denmark.

Hamlet and Denmark are one and the same for me. I think of a cold and windy land full of melancholy. The article reinforced some of my stereotypes about Denmark, but I did learn a few new facts as well. For some reason Garrison Keillor wrote the article and the only explanation given for choosing him is that he likes Denmark. I guess it doesn't matter, but I can't remember the last time a well known author wrote something for National Geographic.