Happy Birthday to US

It's July 4th -- American Independence Day. It struck me, with all the negative going around all the time from seemingly everywhere that perhaps I ought to muse for a moment on the positive. So, despite my recent expression of concern, let's take some look at the positives lest we find ourselves ungrateful and short-sighted.

The rest of the world complains about the U.S. because ... well ... from the perspective of the rest of the world we're rich. We're not merely "well off." We're stinkin' rich. Now, I might beg to differ, but it would be futile. I mean, I live from paycheck to paycheck. I can't afford a new car. We don't take exorbitant vacations or own multiple homes. If we wanted to move back to a modest home in southern California where we came from, we simply couldn't afford to do it. We don't use our air conditioning as much as we would like and we conserve on our utilities and we don't buy the best food. But we eat ... every day. We have transportation. We have a house. We have more than one TV and more than one computer and ... more of just about everything than the vast majority of the world. Compared to the rich folks of Beverly Hills or Scottsdale or whatever other rich community you wish to mention, we're not rich. Compared to the world economy we're very rich.

In this country we have freedoms that we take for granted. Humans in general tend to look at the negative. I suspect, in fact, that realists are just as rare as the "pollyannas" of the world. So we complain about our government and we complain about our society and we complain about our churches because there are valid things in just about anything you want to mention that bear complaint. However, we enjoy freedoms that are rare indeed. Here you can find just about every religion known to Man -- protected by law. It is our right to express our opinion, even if that opinion is that the government should be overthrown. George Mitchell said, "What is good about the United States is the sense that you can disagree with the government and not be seen as unpatriotic." I recently wrote about how it is wrong to disrespect our leaders, but it is within your rights to do so -- protected by law. We have unequaled freedoms of speech, religion, and security. We are protected against unwarranted search and seizure. We are promised "innocent until proven guilty". We have a right to a trial by a jury of our peers. We abolished slavery, gave other races the right to vote, gave women the right to vote, and limited the term of a President. Sure, you can find problems wherever you wish to look, but the system is truly phenomenal, and very few in the world enjoy such rights as we do.

We can always look for mistakes and blunders in history, but spend a moment today looking at the amazing accomplishments of this great country of ours. We formed a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people", something very few others have done. We settled most of this continent, putting to use this great land of ours in ways that few ever envisioned. The Monroe Doctrine told Europe to stay out of the Americas. During a turbulent 19th century we held together a divided country, surviving a civil war and emerging stronger -- without slavery. We survived the Great Depression. We defended Europe against tyrants who would take over the world and stopped Japan from occupying China. We held off Communist North Korea from taking over a free South Korea. President Reagan put an end to the Cold War, loosing the Soviet Union's grip on much of Europe and making them free again. We freed Kuwait from Iraq's ambitions to take their country and freed Afghanistan from the crushing leadership of the Taliban. We have led the world in technology, from space travel to television. We put men on the Moon. No, we're not perfect. We have an imperfect record, but who else can boast the accomplishments of a single nation like ours?

There is a constant complaint today among minorities of American racism and the like. It would, in fact, be foolhardy of me to deny that racism exists. But to what extent? Barak Obama is running for president; who cares that he's black? Where else do you find such varieties of opportunity for such varieties of people without regard for their race, color, or creed? In my neighborhood there are Hispanics, Arabs, blacks, whites, Indians (people from India), Asians ... just about every race you can imagine. No one cares. Your race is irrelevant here. No, we have not achieved perfection in this country on racism, but there are precious few places on this planet that have such diversity and so little racism.

It is a great country. It is not flawless. It may not be improving. We don't have to search hard to find problems. But for all its problems, it is still unequaled in its greatness. I am blessed and grateful to God for being allowed to live in this unique and marvelous "American experiment". Sometimes we ought to stop our complaining long enough to be grateful. Today seems like a good time for it. May God bless America.