Loving, hating and being neutral on the 4th of July

So...yesterday The Firm celebrated the American independence day in style. They hung up the star spangled banner in full view, strung up lots of red, white and blue balloons and had a special 'All-American' lunch menu.

I've still got mixed feelings on the whole thing.

Given that The Firm has it's roots in America, hasn't it evolved to being much more than an American company? No one better than the Americans, in fact, to understand why loyalties need to be re-cultivated once you're an immigrant in a new country.

While this display of love for the Fatherland (does Uncle Sam count?) wasn't in any way overdone or distasteful, the fact still remains that it was for an audience of predominantly non-Americans on non-American soil.

And so I begin to wonder.... why?

It's no secret that The Firm's primary allegiance is to 'the pursuit of happiness', to be understood as being directly proportional to bigger bonuses. It sniffs out opportunities that exist in any part of the globe, and if those opportunities happen to lie behind relatively non-porous borders, a military and a heavy red curtain, well... that's just stuff that needs to be tackled in another day's work by The Firm's army of roving political 'ambassadors' and consultants. No patriotic sentiments there...though some might argue that doing business without any thought to the politics of the whole thing really is The American Way :) So after going to all these lengths to prove that the world does trade sans any borders and that we are in the age of 'global' companies (The Firm has a footprint in at least 20 countries), why, Oh Why are they making me celebrate one particular country's independence day?

I'm not anti-American.... whether I like or dislike celebrating the 4th of July, I have a job here because The Firm chose to cross America's borders. In a way, America and it's Financial markets play a role in feeding me.

But maybe it would be better if there was a more inclusive approach. How about if we celebrated the independence day of every country we work out of? Wouldn't that be more in keeping with the famed 'Culture' that plays a part in recruiting some of the best minds the world over, across nationalities?

<edit> Forgot to mention why I said 'loving the 4th of July'....whatever else, the lunch was good! Thanks Nag! <\edit>