The small falsehoods and great truth of the Fourth of July: A lot of the lore that surrounds the holiday isn't accurate, but its meaning and power are undeniable
National Geographic's 'Exploding the Myths'
(Warning: it's a 45-minute video)
Unfortunately I didn't make it to the festival this morning; my ankle was really hurting last night and I'd asked off long before I went into the boot. I didn't want to walk all over downtown in that condition. Plus, I was up until 5 am to take a friend home from work, and needed more sleep, because I'm working from 2-10 pm today. That means I wouldn't have been able to watch the parade anyway, and I'll miss the fireworks, too.
But I still can wish the country a happy birthday. :)
Just in case you can't watch fireworks tonight (a lot of communities are cutting out displays due to the recession, for example), here's one from New York from last year: