Where did all the patriotism go?

Maybe it was just me or maybe it was just my small corner of the world here in Reno but I came away from the 4th with a lack of feeling of Patriotism. Its wasn’t without effort. I went to the events down at the Sparks Marina and there were things in the appropriate colors of red, white and blue. I went to the fireworks display at Rancho San Rafael and they had fireworks. We ate hot dogs and mac & cheese for dinner. But never did it feel like the 4th.

At the Marina, instead of a band playing patriotic tunes they had Sparks Idol, a spoof of the show American Idol where local kids sang karaoke. They had a few kids games and face painting, but I guarantee that Mayah, my 3 year old, did not walk away with a sense of America, freedom or even something as simple as the American flag.

I paid $5 to park at the park and watch fireworks. We had lots of family and it was a fun time, if not a little windy. But again, no music, no flags, no American machismo. Again, Mayah doesn’t know the difference between these fireworks and the ones she saw at Disneyland back in March.

Maybe it was at the parade, which we didn’t go see. Maybe that is where all the patriotism was. I’ll be sure to go next year in search of it.

Technorati : 4th, Fourth of July, July 4th, Nevada, Patriotism, Reno