|
Written by Greg Bird
|
|
Friday, 19 September 2008 |
With the 2008 Presidential election really starting to heat up and the mud-slinging is getting pretty thick from both parties, there has been a lot of discussion about race, gender and patriotism. While opponents to a particular candidate are prone to use differences as a way of dividing the nation, I see it as an example of exactly what it means to be an American.
So I thought I’d list a few things that make living in America a great thing.
I am grateful that being an American means that I can worship God, Buddha, Allah or even Oprah for that matter, without having to fear persecution.
That I can dress or wear my hair any way that I chose, and the only thing I have to worry about is how I feel about how I look.
That I can waste time watching television, or playing video games without being denounced as a heretic.
I can go to a supermarket and have an unlimited amount of choices as to what I want to eat, and I don’t have to stand in endless lines and spent a whole months salary to get a loaf of stale bread.
I am proud to live in a country where I can listen to several different types of music, from ska to country, from punk to classical, from rock-and-roll to gospel. And I can choose not to listen to any music that I don’t want to hear. The choice is mine, and that is great.
I am proud to live in a society that has so much free time, and can use that time for whatever we want.
It is fantastic that we have so many options for recreational activities, instead of having state sponsored events that are mandatory to attend. People get paid to play children’s’ games and millions of people enjoy watching them.
Our people are always ready to help out another, whether they’re in another town, state or even country, the generosity of Americans is legendary, we help out flood victims, help after natural disasters, feed the poor and heal the sick without asking “What’s in it for us?” Americans are also the police of the world, we help settle disputes and protect those who need it, all while putting our own selfless soldiers in harms way.
I am proud to live in a country where I can see mountains, canyons, great forests, deserts, oceans, rivers, snow and sand, all without crossing a border. And, I appreciate being able to see them all without having to file paperwork with the government to do so.
Any child born into this country has every opportunity to be what ever they want when they grow up, the government does not decide for them.
It is great that we have virtually unlimited access to information and we can get it at any time. There are people whose job it is to find out what the government doesn’t want us to know, and that very same government protects them.
Any nation that allows an average citizen like myself to have his ideas, however insignificant they are, published every week for all who want to read it must truly be an enlightened one.
God Bless America.
|
