This is the first in my series detailing what I love about America. There is no rhyme, no reason to the particular topic. It is just what struck me at the time I decided to post.
I Goggled “Overthrow America” and got 2,690,000 hits.
I did the same with “Death to America” and got 96,800,000 hits.
Why?
Why is it that a nation that has spent billions and billions of dollars, uncountable hours of labor, and hundreds of thousands of lives to make the world a better place reviled so?
Why is it that when the world needs help it turns to us, but when it doesn’t it turns on us?
Some people have said it’s about jealousy; that we are wealthy and free while many in the world aren’t. Some have said it is because our power makes often appear callous to other nations as we act as the World’s policeman. Some have said we are trying to impose our views upon the world by using our economic power as a weapon. I even heard a guy say that he didn’t know what we are doing, but he doesn’t like it.
The problem is that the people I have heard express these views are Americans. As a nation we are constantly engaged in self-flagellation for sins real or imagined. We examine our motives and find them wanting. We examine our actions and find them cruel. We see the problems in the world and search for our culpability.
Do you know why these people fail to understand America? It’s hard to understand something that you cannot see. If you have no grasp of the fundamental nature of something, you can’t be expected to understand it. What they fail to see is that America is not a place, it is not a people, it is not a tangible object that can be held up and examined. It is an idea, it is a process.
America is about moving toward the goal that will always be beyond reach. America is an ideal to be striven for, not a finish line to cross. It is about creating a world in which all people are able to live their lives to their fullest potential. It is about creating opportunity. It is about working towards, not reaching.
Our heroes in uniform do not take an oath to protect this nation, they swear to protect and defend an idea represented by the Constitution. That government should be of the people, by the people, and for the people.
So, why do I love America?
I love America because no matter how silly and ignorant you might be, you can say what you think.
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