It’s a Holiday to Think About Us

Anyone who has ever traversed America, north to south, east to west, and gotten off the interstates long enough to eat and sleep, will tell us one thing: Americans are some of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet. Down home, in little towns, in forgotten places, Americans would give us the shirt off their back if it meant helping someone in true need. Often we get a jaded opinion of our nation by watching the news and reading the terrible things some people do to others.
It is not until we witness a tragedy, such as the F-5 tornado that devastated Moore, Okla., or a fire that destroys a family’s home in Cape May Court House, or the outpouring of donations for hurricane victims that we begin to understand the true fabric of this nation. We are, at heart, good people who care deeply about others. We may not always show it, but when the chips are down, we can count on each other for moral and physical support. That says a great deal of who we truly are and the stuff of which we are made.
Best of all, the closer we get to the grassroots population, we find there are so many just like ourselves who are scared of what they are seeing today, a government, on one hand unable to pass meaningful legislation, while on the other hand, a government that is becoming ever intrusive in our private lives.
Seldom do we read about the truly religious people, Christians, Jews, Muslims, who may, without wanting any recognition at all, put groceries on a poor family’s porch, buy shoes for their children, or pay an electric bill so they will have heat and light. We don’t know, nor will we ever, who they are, but they are good Americans of every race and ethnic background. They are us.
To be sure, many around the globe seek our demise, chiefly for the good things we enjoy. Even those here who classify themselves a “poor” would be considered well off in many Third World countries. Having talked to folks who have traveled to impoverished nations and having seem abject poverty in the Philippines, this United States of America is still the best place to live.
We will always have objectors to everything we do, and sometimes they are intolerable, but we cannot be swayed from doing what is right. For sundry reasons they scoff at things patriotic and make a mockery of what many of us hold sacred. We must protect what we hold special and sacred, regardless of the cost. While their actions may anger us, we must agree they are entitled to their opinions, as are we. This is a nation of laws, not of men.
I’ve talked to people who risked their lives on fishing boats to steal away from Communist nations. I have talked to people who were in Nazi concentration camps, who still bare their arm to show a branded number. I have talked with people who truly feared the watchful eye of a KGB agent, and who could not believe, when they first arrived in America, they did not have to report their location to the local police. How many of us have ever faced such terror in this land?
We freely offer an education to our children, and many work hard to learn their lessons. Others think school a waste of their time, and goof off whenever possible, doing the least work possible to get through 13 years of school. Then we talk to men and women who volunteer their time to work among children in Africa who are so hungry for an education, they soak up every word an American will tell them. It makes me humble. Those children cling to old books as treasured gifts, and they will never have an opportunity to learn lessons in a clean classroom with four walls and a real floor. They must be content with dirt floors and long walks to schools, when their parents can afford to feed and send them.
Look at places like Haiti and talk to a Cape May County resident who has gone on a mission trip to that country. They will tell you how warm and friendly the people really are, how they are willing to share out of their poverty, and how many of their children will grow up in bare feet with old clothing, which they deem better than nothing. Still we are a wasteful nation.
I have mixed emotions about illegal immigrants. On one hand, I cannot understand why they did not cross the border legally. On the other hand, I can see why those humble shacks just across the border would not hold much promise, and why America still seems like a better place to raise a family. Our streets, thought pot-hole filled, are still deemed “paved with gold” by many in foreign lands.
I bristle at the notion we ought to become bilingual, since other immigrants who fled here from oppression struggled to learn English. What makes this newer wave of immigrants, legal or otherwise, any different? Our ancestors had to learn English, and it was tough, but they did so, even though they often clung to their mother tongue until they died. Still, we fear or scorn those who speak other languages.
As we prepare to celebrate the nation’s 237th anniversary of independence from England, there may be many faults, but there are also great benefits to being an American. We gripe, I as much as anyone, at having to pay income taxes, state and federal, but our tax rate, burdensome as it is, is not as great as in some other nations. We are free to vote. If both parties ran viable candidates we would have true freedom of choice. Americans would decide the better of two, or, perhaps, best of three.
Documents that created our government were imperfect, yet they formed one of the best nations on the face of the earth. Look around at other nations, how much blood has been shed when top officials changed office. Thank God that has never happened here when our administrations change, save for assassinations by deranged persons.
We may not be perfect, but the stepping stones are there to be followed. The framework is in place when change is needed. As we have seen, it seems when the chips are down, Americans have the knack of always doing the right thing.
So, on this most patriotic of holidays, thank a veteran, be good to your neighbor, share your knowledge with a young person, be tolerant of those you don’t understand, and be thankful you live here. It’s far better than so many other places you could be call home.