- America The Beautiful – Land of the Free and Brave
I am deviating from my usual blog post today because I feel very compelled to share with all of you something I feel very strongly about. I love this country very much and I am deeply concerned for my fellow citizens. As we get ready to celebrate our day of Independence, “The Fourth of July”; I want you to think about this.
Everywhere you look today there seems to be another calamity that we as Americans must deal with. These trials and tribulations have caused a great deal of stress for a lot of people. All around me I see a lot of anger. But that isn’t what really concerns me. What really concerns me is the feeling that many more are hopeless. And that is why I am writing this post today.
I recently viewed a documentary on HBO about the terrorist’s attacks in Mumbai, India. Some of you might recall this tragic event. Or maybe you have seen the documentary. What shocked me so about this event; was the utter acceptance of the people involved of their fate. Whether it was the police aimlessly wandering around, the victims not fighting back, or the terrorist themselves just going along with what they were told to do even though they didn’t want to. I couldn’t imagine that ever happening in this country.
This country was founded on struggle. And it is within our struggle that we gained our strength. We are scrappers and we fight back. I am not prone to jingoistic hyperbole (nationalistic overstatement). I worry that sometimes people use it to control the emotions of others. I am a pragmatist at heart. But this needs to be said.
We as a country have made many mistakes. But when we figure out the right path we are not afraid to take it. We are also not afraid to face our mistakes and acknowledge our shortcomings. It may take us longer than some like but we do get there.
We are a people of action. We do not sit by complacently and just let things happen. We make them happen. It is against our nature to be bystanders.
Because we endeavor to be the best we can we face our fear and push through our pain. We expect that of each other so we get it. Our country was founded on this very principle. We despise tyrants and could never stand for a dictatorship. We are independent to our core.
We are problem solvers. Our different faiths or political parties do not stop us from finding a way to unite for the common good. We embrace our challenges and rise above our petty differences to meet them.
So please take heart America. Our governments will get reformed, our economy will recover, the oil spill will be cleaned up and the wars will end. And we as Americans will be stronger and more united because we did not give in to the fear but faced it head on. And we will succeed not in spite of our struggles but because of them.
