As I sat around the camp fire last night, our discussions amongst friends became quite juicy and pretty damn interesting.Three semi-intelligent, half-drunken and obnoxious guys are more than capable of getting into heated, intellectual debates. Our topics ranged from literature to religion and even to patriotism.
One of my friends, and fellow outdoorsman, has recently returned from the holy-land as well as a small tour of Europe. He happens to be Jewish, and was making what is known as a Birth Right Trip. Basically, the nation of Israel funds a once-in-a-lifetime trip for Jewish people back to the mother land. They fund the trip in hopes that Jewish people will be persuaded to move back to Israel. We asked him if he felt more of a connection to Israel because of his heritage, or to America his country. His answer made me think.
He said that he certainly felt more of a connection to America -- even more so after his trip. He said it made him appreciate the diversity and secularity of our country -- things I think we often take for granted.
I wonder sometimes why so many of us are down on America. Is it the innate pessimism that our country has cultivated in recent years? Is it the constant flow of negative and depressing news? Or is it because the "grass is always greener" and we have contrived and unrealistic views of other countries on this planet?
Many of us Americans have never left our country. We've never experienced first hand what other societies and cultures are really like. Our knowledge is based on beautiful (and completely loaded) video clips we see on TV like a beautiful Brazilian beach on "The Most Luxurious Stars Under twen... blah blah blah... watch people masturbate over celebrities" type shows. Or, the French Riviera on E!. Or, the wild never ending night club parties in super fashiony Milan. It's a joke. We sit here in boring, mundane, world's running joke America and think "holy shit, the rest of the world is amazing." We are on an island. And what is turning into, a big, self-hating island.
We see the vicious underbelly of America, the discrimination, the sick materialism, the crime, the poverty, the flawed medical system, yada, yada, yada. For the most part, we don't see the shitty parts of other countries, we don't hear all their dirty little secrets and we become complacent and unappreciative of what we do have. It becomes much more en vogue to bash and bag on ourselves with our stupid president, and our greedy corporate money-mongers, and our racism and ignorance, etc. etc. then to actually appreciate how wonderful of a place this is.
We need to, collectively, take a long look at ourselves and show some pride in our country. Our diversity, our aid to other countries, our opportunity, our secularity even our justice system and the way we take care of our poor. Hey, we're not perfect, nor will we ever be, but we're trying. And that's what I love about America. We're the land of promise (sarcastically laugh if you want -- but it's true). This is the best country on the planet and we are lucky to be here.
Put on some corny, patriotic, country song (maybe Proud To Be An American by Lee Greenwood) and appreciate your situation. Remember:
"Only in America!"
-Don King
3 comments:
I think you were at my house. My name is seth, the guy I think you had the debacle with was paul who participated in birthrite and is reknowned for that sort of bullshit (sp?) let me know
seth@rubberduckystudios.com
yah thats me i was there. lets hang out again soon
There are two types of people who are disenchanted with the United States:
1) Those who bitch and moan about stupid things as you've illustrated.
2) And those who, based on educated outlooks and experiences, have a deep seated, fundamental issue with what the country is becoming.
I think it's less a case of "grass is greener" as opposed to a "we've let our lawn become infested with crabgrass."
Our government, supposedly the premier democracy in the world, is one of the least, truly representative governments out of the lot. The problem? Our elected representatives don't care about the same things we do. It's a classic principle-agent problem.
Americans in general have no sense of humility. There are multiple ROTC guys on my campus who have done tours in Iraq, and every one of them has a story about someone in their battalion throwing beer bottles at Iraqi civilians or mocking local women in their hijabs. Some think its funny, some think its disgusting. The point is, these are the kinds of people that the people of the world remember us for. And rather than admonishing them for their atrocious behavior, we're told to shut up and "support our troops," lest we be labeled unpatriotic. I'm not trying to imply that all soldiers act this way, or that it's common, but the fact that this is allowed at all is beyond me.
If that's not enough of an example, just take the MTV show Sweet Sixteen. Good god, they glorify spoiled American brats, despite how thinly veiled the mockery really is.
The sad thing is a lot of people do leave the country, and afterwards, their growing disgust for the U.S. is only strengthened.
You're right; we all miss the commodities and luxuries that we've gotten used to here, that we've taken for granted. Basic utilities, supermarkets, cable internet, air conditioning, the works. But for some people, it's not enough.
There is a growing dichotomy in the rising generation of America, our generation. There are those who share the concerns and philosophies that you and I have considered, and then those who care about nothing but The Hills, their sidekick, and their Escalade. And I think a significant portion of the disgust felt by the former is toward the latter.
I'm digressing too much. The bottom line is it's a complicated issue. In the end, yes there are lot of people who take America for granted. Yes there are a lot of people who don't appreciate everything they have. But there are those who do, and still think there's something fundamentally wrong with the country, and I don't think anyone can reject their point of view.
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