July 4, 2009 (‘Happy Birthday, America’ edition) | Ink By the Byte

“Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel” – newspaper adage

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

“The What of July? A quiz between all the fireworks”

COMMENT: The editorial educates and entertains, if only slightly, through a quiz about some of the lesser known facts regarding our earliest American days. Nice little point included about President John Adams’ vision of an independence day for the nation that would fall on July 2. Have to admit that the HBO miniseries John Adams helped me answer at least four of the 15 quiz questions. Simply an incredible show, if you get the chance to watch it.

The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas

“Happy Birthday, America”

COMMENT: A pretty standard piece about appreciating the day. The writer does give mention to those struck hard by the recession and the soldiers who are serving overseas. Nothing revolutionary here, but it is full of pleasant sentiment.

The Northwest Arkansas Times

“Happy Fourth: Land of the Beautiful turns 233 today”

COMMENT: This editorial casts a wide net around the ‘American condition’ du jour, naming things we should be proud of (the election of the first black president) and others we shouldn’t (an estimated 47 million Americans without health insurance).

There are problems this year, most notably with the economy, and this editorial isn’t sparing on that account.

Reality bites – and on this, the nation’s 233rd birthday, common sense also demands that citizins [sic] appreciate how very strange this diverse land really is. For instance, this nation’s people live in a country where the federal debt recently surpassed $11.3 trillion. That’s trillion with a t. That adds up to approximately $37,000 per capita. Happy Independence Day, kids!

I like that the writer recognizes that 2009 is a tough year, an exceptionally tough year. America’s got a lot of hard challenges to face and it doesn’t deserve a sugar-coating. Some years are like that. We tighten our belts, steel our conviction and make it work. It’s those qualities in our culture that raise the lump in my throat and mist my eyes when hearing the national anthem on a day like today.

Ink by the Byte is an infrequent media criticism and editorial roundup column focused on three newspapers in Northwest Arkansas, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas and the Northwest Arkansas Times. All comments reflect the opinion of Christopher Spencer, publisher of Ozarks Unbound.

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