City of Chicago Fireworks Show: No Patriotic Songs Needed

-By Warner Todd Huston

So when you think Independence Day fireworks audio productions do you think of John Mellencamp, Kid Rock, and Neil Diamond as the musical accompaniment? Apparently the City of Chicago did. Either that, or the City of Chicago didn’t care enough about the patriotism inherent in an Independence Day fireworks show to make sure that the radio station they farmed the job out to bothered to include any patriotic songs in the program.

Not only were there no patriotic songs in the program (unless you think “R O C K in the USA” is a patriotic song?) but someone forgot to tell the obviously clueless radio station that the William Tell Overture is supposed to serve as the finale of the show, not as the tune that is supposed to start off the display!

The City of Chicago is becoming well known for raping its citizens, but it is also now widely known for doing its level best to ignore the Constitution of the USA with its unconstitutional gun banning laws, its practice of high taxation for little return, its internal, mobbed-up corruption, its high murder rate and now even a casual disregard for patriotism.

In a stroke of genius, Chicago farmed out its fireworks audio to local Chicago radio station 101.9 FM THE MIX. And with the result, one can only assume that there was no oversight at all, that no one in the city inquired as to what sort of music the station was going to put in its tape. And if someone in the city did review the music, then they are just as unpatriotic as this radio station for which self promotion was far more important than the event, it seems.

WTMX is a soft rock, adult contemporary station that plays a lot of female artists and girly men like Justin Timberlake. It features a morning team that likes to talk to Hollywood types when they are in town or are hawking something over the phone, but generally the morning hosts are bland and free of any edginess or informative programming. Whatever the station is, it seems pretty obvious that not a one of them are informed enough about America, our traditions or patriotism in general to warrant the job that the city handed them.

As mentioned, the fireworks show started with the William Tell Overture, the music that is supposed to serve as the exciting finale of any fireworks presentation. And, as the city’s paltry 20 minute fireworks display weakly played out, the station played Neil Diamond’s “Coming to America,” Kid Rock, Johnny Cougar Mellencamp, and other contemporary rock standards that in no way fit the occasion. There were no John Philip Sousa marches, no rousing renditions of “America the Beautiful,” not even the National Anthem was bothered with by these halfwits

The show itself was poor and anticlimactic. At a mere 20 minutes, the Chicago show lagged behind New York City’s Macy’s sponsored 30-minute-long show as well as the City of Los Angeles’ much longer, 60-minute-long show.

The indifference that the City of Chicago displayed in its choice of radio partners, the obvious disregard for a proper, patriotic show, and its tiny run time really shows how unconcerned Mayor Richard “King” Daley is over the people of his city. And, as all these foolish residents wasted their time attending this farce, as they got soaked for parking and other fees to do so, Daley laughed at each and every one of them.

The City of Chicago is a disgrace and this incident is just one more example of it.

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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, RedState.com, Human Events Magazine, AmericanDailyReview.com, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events and is currently the co-host of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Conservatism” heard on BlogTalkRadio. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston

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