Happy Patriots Day!

Last week I had to attend a business event at the “New York, New York” complex in Las Vegas. At one corner, there is a reproduction of the Statue of Liberty. In front of it is a fake fireboat constantly spraying water from its nozzles. In front of the fireboat is a fence.

And attached very neatly and symmetrically to the fence are dozens of tee shirts commemorating September 11. It looked nothing like any of the spontaneous shrines I’ve passed in the real New York, New York.

The temperature in Las Vegas last week was in the 80s. The temperature in New York today was also in the 80s. The sunbathers were out in force in Central Park. So were the blossoms, the birds, and the bees. It was a glorious day.

Today is April 15, the deadline for filing income tax forms in the United States. Our post offices are packed. At the main one, as usual, there are gifts and entertainment for last-minute filers. There are free drinks. Bands are playing. A group of actors dressed only in towels is said to be enticing those captive in the line to come see their show some other day.

Tax Day at the main New York post office has long been a joyous event for spectators. I wonder whether it’s a joyous event this year for the tax-form filers, too.

There are still many American flags being flown and waved. There are still many signs saying “God Bless America.” Is there some way to show our patriotism other than symbolically?

Few of us serve in our armed forces. Fewer still are in the CIA, the FBI, or the State Department. And only 535 of us have been elected to Congress.

What could be more patriotic than joyfully sending money to our government? Feeling extra patriotic? Skip deductions. Round your payment up to the next thousand. Add more as a gift to the Treasury.

Write your representatives asking for higher tax rates.

It’s a glorious day for patriots to help the cause.

Isn’t it?

TTFN,

Mark