Just a little over three weeks ago, we celebrated the Fourth of July.
I love the Fourth, and always have.
For some reason, this past July 4, our nation's 249th felt extra special.
But why?
Call it nostalgia.
Mostly, my nostalgia centers around the Fourth of July in the during the early 1960s.
Why again?
Because every year my girlfriend, Esther, and I would go to Coney Island, New York, to spend the day.
It was a journey beginning on the "D" train, to Stillwell Avenue, followed by a brief walk to Coney's rides, games and food.
I had one five-dollar bill.
We made it stretch!
There was the Cyclone, the Wonder Wheel, the Tunnel of Love and the hustle games.
Lunch was hotdogs and fries.
But the big treat was at night; fireworks on the beach. That is, we were on the beach.
The fireworks were over the ocean. We were young, poor, and thrilled to be Americans, especially Esther, a recent immigrant from Communist Poland.
Fast forward to this past Fourth of July 2025!
I was rained out of softball in the morning of that day.
And that was a tremendous disappointment because, on special holidays, July 4, Memorial Day and Veterans Day, we start with a ceremony honoring our nation, our flag, and our softball veterans and their fallen friends.
No politics.
Pure patriotism.
I spent part of the morning at my club’s gym. That was special because our community was wall-to-wall flags. A full three-day set of events was scheduled so everyone living here, and their guests, could honor our country however they chose.
We even did a golf cart decoration parade.
Call it the beautiful Sunshine State, Florida, at its best!
I got home in time to watch the hotdog eating competition from Coney Island. Esther, my girlfriend from the 1960s, now my wife, thinks it’s gross. I think it’s wildly entertaining.
Joey Chestnut, the Michael Jordan of eating, downed 71 hotdogs in 10 minutes.
The guy in second-place could only do 46.
"Ain't that America?!"
Yes it is America.
Everyone still loves a sideshow. Still in front of the television.
On July 4, 2025 I got to watch President Trump sign the One Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) into law. We all saw the B-2 flyovers, the pomp and circumstance and the merging of policy and patriotism.
Wimbledon Tennis followed.
How ironic.
The best tennis in the world coming from the "Mother Country" (England) on Independence Day.
You gotta love it!
The evening was extra-special. Esther and I, just the two of us, like when we were kids, went to the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach. (We’re members).
We brought our own lawn chairs. They supplied refreshments and flags. We were yards from the Intracoastal Waterway, her in Florida. (The Henry Flagler people still call it Lake Worth).
At exactly 9:05 PM, the fireworks brightened the sky right before our eyes; a full half-hour of fabulous explosive designs, accompanied by a full chorus of "ooh’s" and "aah’s."
The background music, without lyrics, were the theme songs from our military services. The fireworks concluded at the exact moment the music was finishing with " . . . and the home of the brave."
Of course, the real world is never far away.
On Independence Weekend the Gallup organization released a poll that essentially said that 97% of Republicans were "proud of their country" but only 32% of the Democrats.
My first thought was a sad one.
Abraham Lincoln once told us that a house divided against itself could not stand."
Scary.
My second thought was that the poll needed a follow-up question. How different would the results be if a Democrat was president? Would Republicans still be 97% proud?
Would Democrats only be 32% proud?
Maybe.
It's important that we have the right to protest our government and peacefully work for change. But I can’t help but notice that no other country in the world works as hard as ours to embarrass their own country.
No other Olympians take knees.
No other professional athletes keep their national anthem off the airwaves.
No other country has its citizens flying foreign flags, while burning the Stars and Stripes.
My simple thought is this: If you're only proud of your country when your party is in power, you do not love your country.
If you raise another flag while burning your own, you can never love your country.
We are a great country because we allow all free speech.
We are a troubled country because too many people repeatedly test those boundaries.
May God Bless America every Fourth of July, and the remaining 364 days, year after year!
Sid Dinerstein is a former chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. Read Sid Dinerstein's Reports — More Here.
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