thankfulness
Nov. 2nd, 2010 12:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterbadgerToday I'm thankful for being who and where I am: for being an American.
I don't say that very often. It's partly a political thing: conservatives, especially those of the less thoughtful and reflective variety, are so quick to wrap themselves in the flag that I think those who have a more liberal attitude shy away from identifying as patriots. There's certainly a perception that one can't love one's country and criticize it at the same time. I think that's nonsense. It seems to me that those who have high expectations for our country are always going to be critical exactly because we want our country to live up to its lofty ideals. That doesn't mean we don't love it, any more than a parent who pushes their child to work hard and excel out of love for and confidence in their kid.
In fact, while we hear a lot about the Founding Fathers (not so much, sadly about the Mothers), I think we all need to recognize that every American is still a father or mother to his or her country. Because our nation is the sum total of who we are and what we believe and do. If we believe in, or accept, racism, bigotry, corruption, torture, injustice...that's what American will stand for. If we strive for openness, honesty, fair dealing, justice, tolerance, and mutual respect--even for those with whom we disagree...then those values will represent America; that is what America will be.
We have a beautiful country, full of the wonders of nature and all the things that human ingenuity and creativity can devise. We have a country filled with honest, hard-working people who are strong in their faith (whether it be religious or secular) and believe in justice tempered with mercy. We have an ethos that says that people who strive can achieve; not "get rich quick with no work" but "work hard, play by the rules, and you can make a better life for you and your family". I'd like our country to be famous for those things, not for their antithesis.
I talk a lot about how I much I want to live abroad and how much I like other countries. That isn't because I don't love my own or feel that it's an important part of whom I am. I woke up in a warm bed, had breakfast from food I bought in a store filled with food and drink that almost anyone can afford to buy, connected to the world through the Internet, got in my car and drove to the school my county built to educate children for free, voted for my government's leaders, and then drove to work over well-paved streets through well-regulated traffic, without being stopped or harassed by anyone. I'll go home at the end of the day and--barring a very unusual disaster--my home will still be there, undisturbed. I'll cook dinner using cheap and consistently available electricity and clean water, watch the news, and go so sleep in my own bed. There are so many people around the world who can't do some, most, or any of those things. I can do them all thanks, in large part, to living where and when I do.
I don't beleive that being an American makes me superior to anyone. But I believe it gives me opportunities that others don't have. So I am thankful for being an American.
I don't say that very often. It's partly a political thing: conservatives, especially those of the less thoughtful and reflective variety, are so quick to wrap themselves in the flag that I think those who have a more liberal attitude shy away from identifying as patriots. There's certainly a perception that one can't love one's country and criticize it at the same time. I think that's nonsense. It seems to me that those who have high expectations for our country are always going to be critical exactly because we want our country to live up to its lofty ideals. That doesn't mean we don't love it, any more than a parent who pushes their child to work hard and excel out of love for and confidence in their kid.
In fact, while we hear a lot about the Founding Fathers (not so much, sadly about the Mothers), I think we all need to recognize that every American is still a father or mother to his or her country. Because our nation is the sum total of who we are and what we believe and do. If we believe in, or accept, racism, bigotry, corruption, torture, injustice...that's what American will stand for. If we strive for openness, honesty, fair dealing, justice, tolerance, and mutual respect--even for those with whom we disagree...then those values will represent America; that is what America will be.
We have a beautiful country, full of the wonders of nature and all the things that human ingenuity and creativity can devise. We have a country filled with honest, hard-working people who are strong in their faith (whether it be religious or secular) and believe in justice tempered with mercy. We have an ethos that says that people who strive can achieve; not "get rich quick with no work" but "work hard, play by the rules, and you can make a better life for you and your family". I'd like our country to be famous for those things, not for their antithesis.
I talk a lot about how I much I want to live abroad and how much I like other countries. That isn't because I don't love my own or feel that it's an important part of whom I am. I woke up in a warm bed, had breakfast from food I bought in a store filled with food and drink that almost anyone can afford to buy, connected to the world through the Internet, got in my car and drove to the school my county built to educate children for free, voted for my government's leaders, and then drove to work over well-paved streets through well-regulated traffic, without being stopped or harassed by anyone. I'll go home at the end of the day and--barring a very unusual disaster--my home will still be there, undisturbed. I'll cook dinner using cheap and consistently available electricity and clean water, watch the news, and go so sleep in my own bed. There are so many people around the world who can't do some, most, or any of those things. I can do them all thanks, in large part, to living where and when I do.
I don't beleive that being an American makes me superior to anyone. But I believe it gives me opportunities that others don't have. So I am thankful for being an American.
