Happy 4th! Why I love the USA

A happy 4th of July to you all!  I hope you have tons of fun, hot dogs, and fireworks!  Have a great time, and be safe!  :-)

For today's blog entry, I thought I'd hit a little bit on why I love the USA.

*  For our freedoms - freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of peaceful assembly, and so forth.  No other country on Earth promises in their founding documents the freedoms that we all enjoy with our Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. 

* For our ability to have debates and discussions, and yet still get along.  Heck, I'm a living example of that.  I was born and raised to be a Marxist liberal like my parents, but somewhere along the way, I saw things differently and instead became a Tea Party-loving, free enterprise supporting conservative capitalist.  And while my parents aren't certainly pleased with how I turned out, we still get along.  Certainly, discussions at the dinner table can get a bit - animated - but when the chips are down, what matters most is that we all love each other.  I can honestly say that I would not be who I am today without the influence of my parents. 

* For our customs and traditions that help make us who we are as Americans.  For example, our traditional spirit of volunteering. You see this particularly during trying times like natural disasters.  You will always hear about ordinary Americans quickly planning how to ship food, medicine, and other supplies to the areas of the country that have been hit by some disaster, and many times you will see those who are even willing to volunteer time to help them rebuild. 

* For our ability to learn from our mistakes.  In the past, we had slavery, but thanks to the persistence of anti-slavery abolitionists, our country finally rid itself of this ugly sin.  It took a civil war to do it, but it goes to show the extent that Americans will go to correct its mistakes.   There's plenty still to fix in this great nation of ours, but I have faith that we'll do it, because that's what we do the best; even if we don't always do it in a timely fashion. 

Like many Americans, I am greatly concerned for the direction that our country is headed, but if we take an honest glance at our nation's history, we've always been concerned about the direction our country was headed.  And it is exactly that concern that has helped shape and mold our country very much like steel is heated and tempered in a fire to make it stronger.  It's also that great concern which demonstrates our love for this country, for if we didn't love our country, then we wouldn't worry in what direction it was headed. 

If you're a regular reader to my blog or FB wall, then you know where my concerns lie.  However, I have faith that we will eventually put ourselves on the right path, because that's what we do as Americans.  We may have to be pushed and prodded and even fought against to be put on the right path, but we do it eventually.  I have faith that we will continue to demonstrate that we are the proverbial "shining city on the hill"  because our hopes are greater than our fears.  Much greater. 

So have a great time out there today, and God bless you all.  And God bless America.  May Americans always strive to do the Lord proud.