America is a land of many traditions and standards. For instance, did you know that under each flag pole on each United States military base there can be found a gun, a bullet and a box of matches?

These items are a symbol for the defense of freedom that represent the oath of the armed forces to fight to the last bullet and then burn the flag.

Across the nation can be found museums commemorating battles, feats of American ingenuity, and natural wonders of this great land, all of them serving as a reminder of the past to those of us living in the present and working for a future. Museums are intended to educate, inspire, provide a link to history and to the discoveries of yore.

So, it was with a low-hung head and a sigh that we read of the opening of a certain museum in Huntingdon, Penn. dedicated to two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun.

Yes, the Big Mac is turning 40 this year and with this birthday celebration comes the establishment of an institution whose sole purpose is to educate its patrons about a hamburger sandwich.

Jim Delligatti, 89, the McDonald’s franchise owner who invented the fast-food, artery-clogging monstrosity in 1967, is the man responsible for the opening of the Big Mac Museum and Restaurant full of memorabilia, celebratory exhibits and “the world’s largest Big Mac statue.”

MSNBC called the Big Mac “a veritable pop culture phenomenon.”

Really? Are people actually wasting money on this?

We’re no great philosophers, but there’s something particularly idiotic and farcical about celebrating a fast food item. Do people really care when it was invented? Do they really give a damn where and when somebody first said, “Super Size Me!” Is this really a milestone in American culture of which we all should be proud?

If so, it’s a cultural low point. We’re a nation of idiots who commemorate monstrous commercialized hunks of charred flesh with plastic sculptures. We set golden calves (cooked ones at that) up on pedestals next to goofy red-haired clowns and expect people to have reverence for us as a nation.

Well, we suppose that it is a symbol of how a simple idea can turn into a multi-million-dollar-a-year business. We congratulate McDonald’s on its achievements as a corporation. They’ve shown us that no matter how successful and powerful a conglomerate is, they’re still a bunch of people who never pass up an opportunity to display how insipid they really are.

Thank you, and have a nice day.