Right on the Money: Doug Casey on Economics, Investing, and the Ways of the Real World with Louis James

Chapter 40

Doug Casey on the Fourth of July

July 6, 2011

Louis: Hola, Doug. You know I’m not the angry type; I don’t tend to walk around with a chip on my shoulder. Still, I find myself irritated around this time of year, as person after person wishes me a happy “Fourth of July”—as though the passage of the fourth day of this or any month had any significance whatsoever. It’s Independence Day. Successful rebellion against tyranny is what all the fireworks are about, not just some random long weekend that gives people more time to drink beer and distract themselves from maxed-out credit cards with fireworks. What do you make of this annual showcase of doublethink?

Doug: I totally agree with you. One particular irony is that real fireworks are basically illegal these days. We are supposed to be celebrating the fact that individual farmers, coopers, and carpenters had the firepower to throw off their government—in a society that now disallows the average individual to own more than sparklers.

L: Well, there are loopholes. I buy my fireworks on an Indian reservation. Mostly high-lofting mortars, the biggest I can get. I’ve got a half-kilo “cake” type firework here.

D: Really? That’s great! I wonder if you could hit anything with those mortars. When I was a kid, we’d make real mortars by dropping a big firecracker down a pipe planted in the ground, and then dropping a marble with another big firecracker glued to it down the pipe. Primitive, and a bit risky, but fun practical science ...