Stan Freberg was a radio satirist at a time when everybody else had migrated to television. Possibly best remembered for his version of The Banana Boat Song (featuring a bongo player who objected to how loud the singer was and to the mention of spiders in the lyrics) or the Encyclopaedia Britannica commercials (staring his son) my first introduction to his work was Stan Freberg Presents The United States Of America, Vol. 1, The Early Years an early example of the comedy record album form. Now a lot of the jokes are a bit to very dated but the spirit of prankish rebellion still shines through.

More seriously; as many of us, particularly the Americans amongst us, celebrate the founding of our nation it is time to reflect that our national myths paper over the dual shames of slavery and genocide and the continuing injustices that stemmed from those causes. And though Thomas Jefferson was being a massive hypocrite when he wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” these words still challenge us to make our country a place where that is genuinely true.

Have a great day of barbecue or whatever and please end the day with as many bodily parts as when you started.