What the 4th of July Means To Me

First, Welch vs. McCarthy (yes, that McCarthy during the "McCarthty Hearings"), one of the darkest times in our nation. Note, that bullies sometimes have to be punched in the nose, albeit rhetorically in this instance. And, this is what you get when you mess with a seasoned, articulate attorney. The "have you no decency sir speech" that essentially killed McCarthy's witch hunt:

And sometimes it takes a larger than life person. On a much more minor note, sometimes the superstar (in this case a wealthy, reclusive, arguably mentally unstable one) has the wherewithal to do that which others won't or can't. Don't get me wrong, it's not nearly as important or impressive as the above but, in my estimation, him speaking this way as a private citizen to a Senator of the United States of America is just damn cool and, more importantly right. Regardless of my thoughts, here's Howard Hughes standing up for himself and his employee. The "no, I don't think I will" speech that, in large measure, helped expose and end another witch hunt:

What does the 4th of July mean to you? I appreciate the revolution and fight for theretofore un-enumerated rights. Part of that fight meant that an ordinary citizen could stand up to our government and say, "you're wrong". "Don't tread on me."

These clips reflect, at least somewhat, what the 4th of July means to me. Watch them please, pass them along please, so that no one ever forgets that sometimes you just have to say, "that's wrong, this is wrong, you're wrong," and thankfully we live in a country where a person can say that to the government.

(unwarranted rabbit punch: a million guesses, which party both the questioning Senators belonged to?)