3 Fourth of July Dishes That Say, “This is a Fine and Normal Country”

Marty Shambles
2 min readJun 26, 2022

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Photo by Jennie Brown on Unsplash

The 4th of July is a time to reflect on the Land of the Free, and not to brood on how fucked everything is. So here are some dishes to help you remember that even though all of our institutions may be decaying into a blighted authoritarian nightmare, you can still eat things that make you less sad.

Apple Pie

Photo by Hugo Aitken on Unsplash

What’s more American than apple pie? It conjures memories of baseball, ice cream, and allows you to forget entirely for a moment that an activist court of religious zealots are the final say in our judicial system.

Nachos

Photo by Coffeefy Workafe on Unsplash

Why not try a taste from south of the border wall? Adding a taste of different cultures to the mix will take away your guilt in the complicity with which you view concentration camps for immigrant families.

Hummus

Photo by Ludovic Avice on Unsplash

While you’re at it, why not try some flavors from the Middle East? There’s always some vague sense that our drones are bombing the shit out of some of those countries, but whatever, get some pita chips and sit down for a treat!

This 4th of July will be a big hit as you proclaim willful ignorance of the horrors surrounding you.

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Marty Shambles

Pushcart nominated author of short fiction. New book available at EMPBooks.com