Fireworks in the background? Check. Skyline of Manhattan, too? Check. Little girl on her daddy's shoulders? Fuckin' check, man. Bonus points: The little girl is wearing a red, white, and blue outfit. Bonuser points: she and her family are recent immigrants from Pakistan. Checkmate: They're Muslim.
So, fuck, yeah. Suck it, AP. The only thing that could make this more goddamn 21st-century American is if an oily eagle was eating apple pie out of her hands.
(Note: After this photo was taken, the little girl got scared and started sobbing. Her mother comforted her while her father continued to watch the sky explode. The Rude Pundit took in the show over the Hudson River until the end, grateful that no one had brought a radio for the musical accompaniment, stunned that most people were silent except for spontaneous reactions during the display. Then he remembered he was in Weehawken, New Jersey, standing pretty much where Aaron Burr shot the fuck out of Alexander Hamilton, and, barring any reenactments, there was little to do but head back to his friends' house and start shooting the vodka that the Russian couple had brought, eat grilled chorizo, and share a pipe with the Korean guy who refused to say where he'd gotten the dope. Rockets' red glare, man, 'til the dawn's early light.)
