Misunderstanding Fools
Americans have come up with ways unimaginable to celebrate America’s birthday. In the book, Cat’s Cradle, Horlick Minton presents a speech on San Lorenzo’s “Hundred Martyrs to Democracy.” There are only about a hundred people there to listen to his speech because the rest was dead. The people of San Lorenzo didn’t put up streamers or decorated any thing. They just came to listen. People tend to stretch the meaning of gathering together to honor our heroes.
“ I am about to do a very un-ambassadorial thing,” he declared. “ I am about to tell you what I really feel.”(253). That is how Ambassador Horlick Minton started his speech. It is not very common to start a speech like that. Presidents over the decade have given speeches on Memorial Day or Labor Day, but they mostly start with the meaning of that celebration. “ We are gathered here, friends,” he said, ‘to honor lo Hoon-yera Mora-toorz tut Zamoo-cratz-ya, children dead, all dead, all murdered in war. It is customary on days like this to call such lost children men.”(253). Horlick addressed these brave soldiers in his speech as every other president does to honor their braveness.
All over the continent, people celebrate with music, dancing and Bar-B-Qs. They laugh and have a great time when they are supposed to be honoring the dead or honoring the people who have died for their country. The people of San Lorenzo don’t do such a thing but listen to their Ambassador and watch a memorial wreath fly into the sea and plains shooting into the water. “Perhaps, when we remember wars, we should take off our clothes and paint ourselves blue and go on all fours all day long and grunt like pigs. That would surely be more appropriate than noble oratory and shows of flags and well-oiled guns.”(254). Americans, on Labor Day, have parades and music marching down every street in town to remember all the sacrificed ones. We should just go to the graves of the soldiers and have a service to admire...