three great speeches from fictive u.s. presidents for the 4th of july

it's been a quiet week.  surprisingly.  because usually the lighting of fireworks starts a week before this holiday.  but tonight it seems everyone saved up to light them all off right now.  as i type, with my window open to the warm july night, it sounds like the front line of a war.  i noticed, today, the great many homes, in neighborhoods up & down & across my fair city, are proudly displaying an american flag.  so are we.  for america is an idea & an ideal.  worthy of them too even if our present time seems to contraindicate the idea & ideal just so.  

so in the spirit of this great american holiday here are three speeches from fictive u.s. presidents.

1.  the west wing [1999 - 2006].  president bartlett's speech here is goosebumpery.  martin sheen delivers this speech with great aplomb.  aaron sorkin's writing is a balance of nobility, grace & pride.  president bartlett may be the greatest u.s. president in american fiction.   

2.  independence day [1996].  i have come to love this flick.  when i first watched it, 30 years ago, i agreed with the new yorker's summation that this was a work of 'spectacular nothing.'  i've long since changed my mind.  this flick is a summer movie deluxe.  it's got a killer cast, fantastic FX, & the director, roland emmerich, delivers such goofball panache to what is, in essence, a summer popcorn movie.  but when president whitmore, played by bill pullman, gives his st. crispin's day speech, oh wow!  for again, this speech is evidence that america, & being american, is an idea & an ideal.  

3.  ioiocracy [2006].  now this is a movie.  a satire of u.s. culture, political & popular, this flick is a bastion of hilarious counter moves against our own current culture, political & popular.  but i will say that president dwyane elizondo mountain dew herbert camacho, played by the great terry crews, only wants what is best for his people.  so he gets the smartest man in the world, not sure, wonderfully essayed by luke wilson, to create a three-point plan, to fix everything! president camacho's state of the union speech is a miracle of theater & persuasion.  

there you have three fictive american presidents giving the speeches of their lives.  

the fireworks are still lighting the Sac sky.  i love it.  i love the holiday.  one of my favorites, behind halloween.  because it is a summer holiday, & an american holiday.  for whoso chooses to celebrate this day is american.