Wed 4 Jul 2007
I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free
–Lee Greenwood
Being American fundamentally means having the freedom to be what you want to be. America is unlike any place in the world; it is the land of crazy dreams, where the people who take chances are celebrated, where crowds root for the underdog and where every-so-often that underdog comes back against a million-to-one odds, and wins. In America, you can invent an airplane in your garage, beat cancer and go on to win the Tour de France and run for president even if your father is just a farmer. Only in America can the most influential men in business be a pair of nerdy boys from Stanford and the richest man on her continent, a geeky college dropout.
Paradoxically that freedom neither is, nor ever was, without cost. America stands today on foundations blood-seeped from patriots past and present. Blood spilt from heroes: from brothers, from fathers, and from sons. Heroes whose lives and futures and dreams were sacrificed for our current dreams. Dreams nourished by the climate created by the 1st amendment of the constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The consequent freedom of expression and the pride the Bill of Rights engenders is interpreted by many of our global neighbors as blind arrogance; Americans think they can do anything, but for good reason– history has shown that we can. Tempering this ambition, of course, should be this restraint, that with great power, comes great responsibility.
And America has largely lived up to that responsibility. Being American means being brave and it means hard work. America was built by strong individuals, strong families and strong communities. Americans have faith, and are caring and giving.
Surely America has its problems still. Families are under vicious attack from all sides. We pollute way too much. We’re fat and getting fatter and fewer of us read books any more. Political life has degraded to the point that every race is a clothespin vote. We’re becoming more self-absorbed and less concerned with others. The list of troubles continues…
Yet if America embodies anything, it is hope. In her relatively brief history, America has shown a knack for overcoming nearly impossible obstacles. We overthrew our tyrannical mother-country, we united a divided land, we vanquished the Nazis, landed on the moon, invented the light bulb, the radio and the computer and we cured polio. We’ll overcome our present hurdles, too, and be stronger for it.
And so this Fourth of July, for these and many other reasons, I can say without reservation, that I’m proud to be an American. Are you?
thoughts on America the Beautiful