Sorry to be a downer, but the 4th on the Esplanade now [View all]

depresses me.

Hundreds of Staties and various LE strutting about with all their gear hardware - all being paid for by us. Checkpoints and restrictions everywhere.

I remember when you could just bring a cooler and sit anywhere you could find a spot.

To me rather than a celebration of freedom it's a reminder of how much freedom is being lost.

I guess I'm also just feeling pretty bad about the state of this country.