Skip to Content
Opinion

Oh No, It’s the 4th of July: An Open Thread

As we do every week (but a day early this time), we're turning Racket over to you, the readers.

10:13 AM CDT on July 3, 2025

Photo by DESIGNECOLOGIST on Unsplash

Racket is taking tomorrow off, and I hope the rest of you are as well (or, if not, you're at least getting paid double-time).

I'm not personally a fireworks guy—though in theory I like big, bright explosions in the sky, in reality I find 'em kind of dull. But I've got at least one cookout to attend, and I hope to hit a gig or two. And I plan to lay around the house a bunch as well.

But this is gonna be a tough Independence Day to stomach. As someone raised on Springsteen records and Leaves of Grass, I can never quite give up on the unruly potential for American democracy. But U.S. history can feel like a very sick joke in the 21st century, with the Trump regime a rancid punchline.

And so, apatriotic (as opposed to anti-) fella that I am, all I can do this weekend, while my government reverses a century of progress, is be my inescapably American self—cranky and idealist, disrespectful of power and prestige, and convinced that humans have the obligation to work together to govern themselves.

Share your thoughts on the subject if you got 'em. Or you can just tell us how you plan to relax over the next three days.

And as always, feel free to ignore this prompt and talk about whatever you want.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More Stories

We Must Abolish the New Skyride Ads at the Minnesota State Fair

Plus forever chemical podcasts, State Fair food review aggregation, and school start time debates in today's Flyover news roundup.

September 8, 2026

Get Autumnal With Your Complete Concert Calendar: Sept. 8-14

Pretty much all the music you can catch in the Twin Cities this week.

September 8, 2026

Pay-to-Play Youth Soccer ‘Is About Entitlement and Money.’ 2 MN Leagues Are Emphasizing Affordability, Fun.

Sol of the Cities Futsal League and La Liga de Sueños aim to solve youth soccer's 'lightning-rod issue.'

Remembering the Time Gloria Steinem Delivered a Homily at St. Joan’s in South Minneapolis

Plus GOP AI slop, a new football pod, and your State Fair moment of zen in today's Flyover news roundup.