4th of July and Superman

Today is the FOURTH of JULY a big deal to my friends in the States.
On Local radio here in Canberra the fuckwit ABC was holding a phone poll to see who was the greatest American - people conspicuous by their abcense; Frederik Douglas, Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincon, Ben Franklin (was mentioned, but none of the other founding fathers), Woodrow Wilson, Rosa Parkes, I could go on...
The Fourth of July is a celebration of the public reading of the Declaration of Independance, an interesting document in itself. All the people who signed this document, for I have seen a copy at the courthouse in Annapolis, were also signing their death warrant if they lost the war or were ever captured. To write this document and commit to this process and to publicly declare who you were (a traitor to the Crown) took balls. "Give me liberty or give me death" said Patrick Henry and he wasn't kidding - those were the choices.

So, I've spoken a bit about this twee poll conducted by ABC 666am (seriously, that is the freq of the station) who would I nominate? After some consideration I would nominate George Washington. Not for his qualities as a tactitian, he was competent not brilliant, but his qualities as a gentleman and as a hero for the people. When the Treaty of Paris has concluded the Continental Congress met to discuss the 'what next' question. Although the Bill of Rights had been drafted, this was a tenuous foundation for the Republic. Power could have abused outright and a dictatorship cum monarchy installed. George Washington was in a position to seize power, sweep away the Continental Congress and install himself as 'President for Life'. He was the Head of the Army, he had the troops, he would have won.
Instead he did something remarkable, he resigned his commission. He then went onto become the first and second president of the Republic and worked hard to consolidate the Republic. He was the citizen first and the solider second, a high minded ideal indeed.

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As it is the Fourth of July, I though I would also post my review of 'Superman Returns' . I liked it I have to say. I thought it worked very well, I enjoyed the nod to the previous films and I think the new guy did a good job as Superman/Clark Kent.
Couldn't help thinking of the speech from Kill Bill 2 though.