2013-07-03 – Chicago used to have its big fireworks on this day. I used to go every year. Eventually, the event was combined with the Taste of Chicago and got too big for my taste. I stopped going. A couple years ago they ended the July 3 fireworks. I don’t know if the Taste of Chicago still exists. But I don’t care anymore.

It’s not that I don’t want to celebrate this country. But the event morphed into a celebration of mere gluttony. I don’t even have a problem with gluttony. It’s just that public celebrations of gluttony are just gross.

The absorption of once-meaningful observances into the worship of gluttony is not confined just to Independence Day. It is the very essence of Christmas these days.

Even the solemnity of April Fools Day has been compromised. Last April 1, I proposed a new holiday to be called Diogenes Day. Whereas every day of the year has become a Fools Day, Diogenes Day would be a day to recoil from fools.

Diogenes Day is named after the ancient Greek who is known for his search for an honest man. Ironically, Diogenes began his life as a banker, but got fed up, embarking on a career as a philosopher and the world’s first cynic.

I just wanted to remind you all that the first Diogenes Day will be celebrated on October 1, 2013. As of today, you have only 90 more shopping days.

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[UPDATE: Go to my Diogenes Day page to see other DD posts.]