Digital Ink Los Angeles

The essential element to world-class sprinting is, quite simply, an extremely rapid propulsion of the lower appendages in a manner that allows the athlete to move forward with great success. Putting one foot in front of the other, but really, really fast.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica — more than any human in history — is a freak of rapid propulsion. At full speed, the long-legged 6’6″ Jamaican covers around ten feet per stride, allowing him to cover the 100-meter distance in an astonishing 41-43 strides.

Every so often, a Mozart, Picasso, Shakespeare, or Hendrix appears in our humble midst — humans who bless the world with their super-human qualities, effectively engaging audiences with their astonishing ability and supreme mastery of their specific craft. Usain Bolt is that kind of divine creature.

At the 12th IAAF 2009 World Championships in Athletics held in Berlin, Germany, last week, Usain Bolt demonstrated his freak-funk track prowess to the ultimate degree by setting two new World Records: a 9.58 in the 100 meter and 19.19 in the 200 meter races.

If the guy had wings, he might take flight. On Usain Bolt’s 23rd birthday, Digital Ink declares him the most dominant figure in sports today, and arguably an athletic artist beyond comparison.

View the footage of his record-setting 200 meter race and witness the fury of this man’s feet:

Fly Like an Eagle – July 16, 1969

The recollection of historical facts can draw together disparate ideas and create relevance where before there seemed none. Sometimes, historical events might become metaphors for grander ideas, allowing us to imagine if that is possible, so might this be.

A walk on the Moon is something only 12 American astronauts can lay claim to, and Neil Armstrong was the first, declaring, 40 years ago, “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

There’s a plaque left on the Moon, 240,000 miles above Earth, by the crew of the Apollo 11, which reads:

“Here men from planet Earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”

As the United States — and the rest of mankind — adjust to the rigors of 21st Century existence, many difficulties and uncertainties have become magnified and worsened. Failed drug wars, California’s financial collapse, Wall Street chaos, Middle East conflict, and domestic issues like healthcare and education are seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

If the United States can put a man on the moon, can’t we educate every citizen? Can’t we assimilate a global conference to eradicate poverty and abject hunger for children? Can a nation founded on liberty and the pursuit of happiness continue to offer these privileges to its citizens as inalienable rights? Can the United States continue to lead the free world toward peace and harmony?

Armstrong’s declaration remains as prophetic today as it seemed in the volatile era of 1969, announcing to many that a common goal among humble men can become more for humanity than we might’ve imagined. Every exploration begins with uncertainty, and some end with certainty. 40 years after Apollo 11, the announcement remains the same:

Yes We Can!

On July 14, 1789, the French citizens represented by the Third Estate had arranged themselves into a militia capable of enforcing their new National Assembly‘s laws, mostly in response to growing dismay over their blossoming national debt. The storming of the Bastille created the Bastille Day holiday, equivalent to the United States’ Fourth of July Independence celebration.

Of course, the reason the French nobility had broken their national coffers and bankrupted their country — they were trying to help the American colonies gain their independence and freedom from England.

The Sans-culottes (French for “without knee-breeches”) were the poorer members of the Third Estate, and also the most likely to exact violent repayment of social debts by the aristocratic nobility who they felt responsible for the poor state of France. Within this broiling realm of hatred and revenge, a notion for “humane” execution had emerged — oddly, from Louis XVI, who sought a way to appease the angered masses and their protests over the inhumane Catherine Wheel.

From this emerged an instrument of “humane” execution: The Guillotine.

According to Wikipedia, between July 1793 to July 1794 in France is known as the Reign of Terror, the upheaval following the overthrow of the monarchy, which hurled France into chaos, and the newly formed government into frenzied paranoia. Most of the democratic reforms of the revolution were suspended and large-scale executions by guillotine began. Former King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were executed in 1793, and this was just the beginning of the bloodletting.

Robespierre had emerged as a speaker for the people in the new government, and his history associates him with much responsibility for the vulgarity and absurdity of the Terror. The “Revolutionary Tribunal” sentenced thousands to the guillotine. Every shape, size, class, color, and shade of people were charged and beheaded on suspicion of “crimes against liberty,” leading them down the short path with a big blade waiting for them — often referred to as the National Razor. Estimates of total guillotine deaths range between 20,000 and 40,000 sliced necks.

Vive La France!. Of course, coup d’etat has always had a different meaning since then. Slicing their way to freedom, one head at a time.

Sliced baguette anyone? Sacre Bleu!

The first known use of the word freedom in a political context dates back to the 24th century BC, in a text describing the restoration of social and economic liberty in Lagash, a Sumerian city-state.

Urukagina, the king of Lagash, established the first known legal code to protect citizens from the rich and powerful. Known as a great reformer, Urukagina established laws that forbade compelling the sale of property and required the charges against the accused to be stated before any man accused of a crime could be punished. This is the first known example of any form of due process in the history of humanity.

Sumer is also known as the “Cradle of Civilization,” or Mesopotamia. The Tigris and Euphrates are the fertile, nutrient-rich rivers that flow southward into modern-day Persian Gulf, which geographically separates Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, and the Saudi Arabian Peninsula.

The Iraqi government has been awarded autonomy and sovereignty of its laws and lands by the U.S. government, effective as of July 1, 2009. The tank-mounted machine-gun in this picture would have been an alarming image until “Operation Iraqi Freedom” liberated the country from its previous government.

The notion we have to celebrate July 4th, because of our adoption of the Declaration of Independence on this date in 1776, is ironic because it takes several long years before the loose confederation of colonies becomes a real nation.

Indeed, the Unites States’ Constitution Day is observed on September 17, the day the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787. That’s eleven years of struggle and perseverance. Baghdad (New Sumeria) has their work cut out for them.

Happy JULY 4th Holidays! Live freely.