Ten Reasons Why I Love America

I’m glad I live here, not somewhere else.

AS Photograpy

Last year, on the Fourth of July, my wife and I were watching the fireworks display when I realized how glad I was to be an American. The local fire department was on a grassy knoll above our condominium. Watching rockets shoot into the sky with a Boom! reminded me of another grassy knoll where President Kennedy was shot. He had urged us to not ask what our country could do for us and ask what we could do for our country. His advice reminded me of Abraham Lincoln, who said a man should be proud of the place where he lives and live so his place is proud of him.

Kennedy > Lincoln

When the fireworks were over, we went inside, made coffee and sat down. She turned to me and smiled, “That was some show, wasn’t it? Makes me glad I’m an American.”

“Me too,” I said, “but the celebration makes me feel like a hypocrite.”

“You’re a lot of things,” she said, “but a hypocrite is not one of them.”

“Well, maybe you’re right, but every Fourth of July, I wave the American flag, drink American beer, and celebrate my American citizenship while we watch the fireworks. But I can’t think of anything I do to be an American or anything I’ve done for America.

“You’re being too hard on yourself. You were born here. That in itself is being an American. When you reached the end of your enlistment, you didn’t stay in Germany. You got on a ship and came home. You vote for candidates who love America, and struggle to buy things made here, not somewhere else.”

She paused to give me one of her million dollar smiles. “And you married me, an American, not some woman from another country who came here illegally to seduce some guy into marrying her so she claim she was an American.”

“I did and thank you for saying ‘Yes!’ when I popped the question.”

I paused to raise both my thumbs and blow an air kiss in her direction.

“But there are things I could do besides just being here, voting for patriotic candidates and buying stuff made in America.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Something my father said when I was a boy comes to mind. We were sitting around a campfire in the high Sierras. He stirred the fire, then said, ‘Billy, what you do makes something so, not what you think, or believe or say.’ He wasn’t saying that thoughts, beliefs and words weren’t important. He was saying that acting on them is what counts.”

“I didn’t know your father, but it’s obvious that he lives in you, the man I do know.” She smiled, then gave me one of her deep, penetrating looks “So, break it down for me. What’s bothering you?”

I took a deep breath and released it slowly.

“Well, several things. Our Constitution, Bill of Rights and democratic form of government make America a land of opportunity. But I pursued prosperity to keep beans on our table and a roof over our heads, not to be an example for people from other countries of the rights, privileges and freedom they could have if they lived here.”

“When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, thousands of Americans enlisted to put Germany and Japan on their knees and Hitler in the ground. But I joined the Army to learn electronics, not to defend democracy and the American way of life. And I didn’t have to dodge bullets or shoot anyone. I just drove a truck around Germany repairing Hawk missile sites.”

“Learning English is the first step toward assimilating yourself into the American way of life. But I learned Spanish to make friends with the Hispanic boys and girls I met in school, not to encourage them to reciprocate by learning English.”

“Our founding fathers believed property owners would be better citizens because they had a stake in society and were therefore more likely to get involved in the values and issues of the country. But I bought a house to give you a home and our children better living conditions, not to make us better Americans.”

“You’ve been thinking about this, haven’t you? So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to make a list of why I’m glad I was born here and not somewhere else. The list will help me find ways to be a better American. Then, this year on the fourth of July, I’ll wave the American flag, drink American beer, and celebrate my American citizenship without feeling like a hypocrite.”

“Good,” she said, “I look forward to what you come up with.”

A few days later, I had ten reasons why I love America. Some made me glad I was an American and some were ways I could do something for America. That evening I showed her the list.

She spent a few minutes reading it, then looked up with a smile on her face.

“Wow, this is a great list, honey. Next fourth of July, we’ll read your ten reasons while the fireworks light up our sky.”

You might conclude that my reasons are too naive and unrealistic, but they might give you food for thought while you’re watching fireworks light up your sky.

Unsplash photo by Jeffrey Hamilton

America is Where…

One ➨ I learned to work for what I wanted, not beg, borrow or steal it. I was born shortly after the Depression. We lived in an Army tent because we didn’t have a house. So, I recall evenings around the campfire 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.

Two ➨ I don’t have to be poor or unhappy about the present. I can take advantage of a zillion opportunities to be financially prosperous, to pursue life, liberty and happiness. Despite the hard times that come and go, I can be optimistic about the future.

Three ➨ I can appreciate why 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, the land of the free and home of the brave.

Four ➨ People have the opportunity to overcome the inherent tribalism of human nature and the chasm between rich and poor, blacks and whites, conservatives and liberals.

Five ➨ The optimum number of illegal immigrants is zero. People from other countries have the opportunity to come here legally and learn to assimilate their skills and values into the evolving American culture.

Six ➨ Unity can keep us from becoming zillions of isolated mini-cultures divided by identity politics and hyphenated American categories. I am not a liberal-American, a conservative-American, a white-American, a black-American, or a brown-American. I’m an American… period.

Seven ➨ We can replace political gridlock with grass-roots action to build unity from the bottom up, not from the top down.

Eight ➨ We can stop voting the same idiots into office but expecting different results. America is where we can demand accountability.

Nine ➨ I can vote to accept or reject a candidate and tell my representatives to support or oppose legislation.

Ten ➨ My representatives make it possible for me to spend less time analyzing politics and more time pursuing happiness and prosperity