TEN REASONS WHY I LOVE AMERICA A man should be proud of the place where he lives and live so his place is proud of him. Abraham Lincoln Below is an extract of a blog at my website on PATRIOTISM. My reasons might seem a bit naive considering the changes that have occurred in the world since I wrote it, but I'm still glad I live here and not somewhere else. 1» America is where I learned to work for what I wanted—not beg, borrow or steal it. I was born shortly after the Depression so I recall evenings around the campfire—we lived in an Army tent because we didn't have a house—hearing my parents and their friends recall the suffering of those days. I believed those stories, exaggerated as they may have been, because we were dirt poor ourselves and worked hard to survive. 2» America is why I'm not poor. I grew up in the Eisenhower Years when America was prospering, so despite hard times I was optimistic about the future. Despite today's hard times, I'm glad I live here, not somewhere else. 3» America is why I live here, not somewhere else. Despite the gap between the American reality and the American dream, my experience in other countries pales in comparison to my life here. That doesn't mean I'm an isolationist or that patriotism is nationalism, tribalism, or racism. It means that patriots are proud to be Americans living in America—land of the free and home of the brave. 4» America is where people can overcome the inherent tribalism of human nature and the chasm between rich and poor, blacks and whites, conservatives and liberals. 5» America is where diversity can be a blessing if people come here to assimilate their skills and values into the evolving American culture—not to establish their own country in the midst of ours. The optimal number of illegal immigrants is zero. 6» America is where unity has the best chance of not disappearing into zillions of isolated mini-cultures, identity politics and hyphenated American categories. I am not a white-American or a black-American or a Muslim-American man. I am an American. Period! 7» America is where I can cooperate with other citizens to replace political gridlock with grass-roots action and thereby unite us from the bottom up rather than rely on politicians to unite us from the top down. 8» America is where we can stop voting the same idiots into office while expecting different results. America is where we can demand accountability. America is where I can disagree with the majority and still be a patriotic, supportive citizen. 9» America is where I can vote to accept or reject a candidate and tell my representatives to support or oppose legislation. 10» America is where my representatives make it possible for me to spend less time analyzing politics and more time pursuing happiness and prosperity.
I'm with you on 1-3 unfortunately the rest of what you say is how it should work and has in the past but it is a far cry from reality now. That will be the down fall of this country as we become Europe or worse some third world country.
Those poor American bastards trapped in Sudan, probability wish that they were French or German citizens right about now! The current situation is shaping up to be a repeat of the Afghan fiasco, where Americans citizens and allies were abandoned! I'm thinking that an American passport over-seas is more of a liability than an asset!
I traveled in the late 80s and early 90s, and everyone's eyes lit up when they saw I was American. It was great. One of my good friends who still travels got a Canadian passport because of the terrible treatment he was getting and genuine fear of his life. We have come full circle from loved to hated, and it isn't that we as individuals have changed, our government and it's policies have.
I don't think that we were ever loved! It's kinda like hookers, they love your money and what you can do for them, but they don't love you! At best, most countries are grateful for our military and foreign aid, trade and tourist dollars. Also, many countries were our enemies, and nobody is glad that you killed their father or grandfather! As long as the US Government sends the military around the world killing their men and f*cking their women we are going to be hated, even more-so when our new woke, diverse and inclusive military gets deployed! When traveling abroad it might be a good idea to hide the fact that you are an American!
