That's a fair question. I don't need to tell you how we've heard, "Make America Great Again" thousands of times. So, what DOES make America great?
To begin, I must assume (as much as I hate assuming) the history of the settlers and immigrants who came to the New World is not well known among not only foreigners, but also not well known by our own young generations. It is appalling to discover just how little high school students and graduates know about their country's origin, its birth, its winning independence.
Forget you are in the 21st century for a while. Put that phone down. Pay attention here. You MIGHT learn something.
People came from Europe in search of religious freedom, mostly. They wanted out from under King George's oppression and control. They wanted freedom. They wanted to live in a new world, an unexplored world where their dreams had a much better chance of success than in England.
Freedom. It is a very powerful word. Maybe the most powerful word in any language. Millions of people fought and died for freedom from as far back as Ancient Greece, the Hebrews in Egypt, the slaves in the Roman Empire, those conquered by Genghis Khan. Freedom is what all oppressed people want. They want to be free.
So did the Colonists who came from Europe.
Although they left England and other countries, King George III still had a firm grip on the New World. There were taxes to pay, in spite of being three thousand miles to the west of England. The British army and navy were supreme in the world. The presence of the British troops was not as bad as the presence of Nazi troops during WWII, but, nevertheless, the army was there.
King George would not stand for dissent, protests, criticism of his reign, so he used the army to keep the colonists in line. Any bad-mouthing of the King was treated harshly. The colonists were out of England, but not yet free. Not really free.
One of the most famous protests of British taxes was the Boston Tea Party. No, it wasn't a bunch of socialites meeting to play Bridge at the local tavern. Colonists dressed up like Indians one night and boarded a ship loaded with tea. Instead of paying taxes on the tea, the colonists tossed the tea into the Boston harbor. Such a waste. Yet, it was a sign the colonists were getting quite fed up with all the taxes King George levied upon the colonists.
Without boring you any further, eventually, the colonists decided they wanted to be completely free. They did not want any ties to England or King George. They decided, once they believed they were capable of being independent, to declare their independence from England.
Well, of course, King George thought ain't no way, peasant! And so the American Revolution was fought. Now remember, the British army was the best in the world. So, you have these farmers and craftsmen, these hunters, and explorers united to fight what seemed like an almost impossible fight. But "freedom" was such dream, such a prize, they decided they were going to give the British the best fight they could muster.
As we all know--the colonists won the revolution. The United States of America was born. A free nation. A free people with a Constitution like no other document in the history of civilization. There has never been, and I venture to say will never be, a document as great as the Constitution of the United States.
Before I continue, I know there was slavery in the New World. No reason to point that out and rub my face in it. Slavery existed. No one has ever said humans were perfect. Only one man who ever walked the Earth was perfect. But also keep in mind, that was more than 200 years ago. At the time of this writing, it was 243 years ago. People did not think like we do today. They did not think like people thought 100 years later. Things change. People change. Changes do not take place overnight.
Once people were free, they realized there had never been a country with the level, the scope, the degree of freedom as they now had in the United States. People explored. They invented. They created. They migrated. They settled.
One thing the U.S. has always done is help people. Always. Especially helping people who also want freedom from oppression.
Which brings me to the American Civil War.
BULLETIN!
The Civil War was not fought because of slavery. No, it was not. (See the links near the bottom of the page) Maybe you've been told that. Maybe you have always believed that, but it isn't true. The YouTube video links near the end of this post explains it much better than could I.
Slavery and the freeing of the slaves was a by-product. Unfortunately, many people with little knowledge and, perhaps, a twisted agenda, want you to think that is why the Civil War was fought.
I told you you might actually learn something.
So, the North was instrumental in helping those who came from Africa or were descendants of African natives gain freedom.
The U. S. fought the Spanish-American War after being attacked. Hey, we couldn't just say, "Oh, that's okay." No. We fought for a good reason. We fought for national defense. We fought to keep our freedom for which many thousands of people died to obtain.
We helped during WWI. We didn't have to, but we did. Many more Americans died for the freedom of people and countries thousands of miles away. We love freedom, and will help others gain or defend their freedom.
Which is why we got involved in WWII. The world was being conquered by three major nations: Germany, Italy, and Japan. The Chinese were getting their hiney's beaten. So were many island nations in the Pacific.
In Europe, France, Holland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Greece, Poland, and many other countries were conquered by Germany. England was taking a serious beating. Great Britain begged for our assistance, and, at first, we didn't want to get into another European conflict. So, we sent food, supplies, ships, military equipment, and many, many thousands of other things to England. The German U-boats had almost choked off England, and people were starving. And many more Americans died at sea trying to get those supplies to the British.
In China, the Fighting Tigers was a group of American pilots and support personnel who fought the Japanese in defense of China. The U.S. had not yet entered WWII. But there we were: Americans coming to the aid of an oppressed people wanting their freedom.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the U.S. finally declared war on Japan, Germany, and Italy. From 1941 to 1945, thousands upon thousands of Americans were killed fighting the Axis powers for freedom. Other than Pearl Harbor, our nation was never attacked, but we went out into the world fighting on foreign soil, fighting on the oceans to help other people. We could have said, "No, this is your fight, not our's." But that is not how the American people are. We are always ready to help, if we can.
To this day, there are many thousands of graves of American soldiers, sailors, and Marines who left to fight the war--and never came home again. They are buried on foreign soil. They left to help others. And that is where they still are today.
Ever hear of the Berlin Airlift? No? Ever hear of the Internet? Use it. Find out what the Berlin Airlift was all about. Find out how we, once again, helped people in a foreign country. We came to help. We were there when others were not.
If you can recall (or search it if you can't), all the times the U.S. has sent money, food, and supplies to foreign countries, which is defined as foreign aid. Recall the group known as Doctors Without Borders. Recall the Red Cross, the World Health Organization, and many, many other organizations traveling the world helping people who are sick, starving, and living in abject poverty.
Recall all the times Americans left their homes in the U.S. to help a country suffering a national disaster. Who else does such things? Russia? Don't make me laugh. China? Another good laugh. Cuba? Mexico? India? Iran? And on and on.
The United States is always there. How many commercials do you see asking for money to help people all over the world? I recall an ad asking for help feeding Jews in Russia. So, why are we helping Jews in Russia? Why isn't Russia helping them? They are Russian citizens. Yet, it is us, the American people, who are helping the Russians. Americans are there giving whatever they can to help.
Who else is?
The compassion, the love, the gift of caring for other people in Americans is unmatched by any other nation anywhere. No country has ever spent as much money, has sent as many people or sent as much food as the U.S. has to help people all over the world.
As an American, you should be proud of your country. You should be damn thankful you were born in the United States. You should be damn thankful so many thousands of Americans who came before you did what they could do to preserve not only our freedom, but also the freedom of others. You are living in a free country, not because of anything you did. Your freedom was paid for with the lives of Americans you never knew and never will.
You owe them a debt you can never repay. Never.
The United States of America is a great country. The greatest country there ever was. And living in this country are the greatest people who ever lived.
Sure, we are not perfect. Yes, there is corruption. We are human, not gods. We have our iniquities. But so has every other civilization there ever was.
Socialism has never worked anywhere in the world. IT DOESN'T WORK! It requires the surrender of freedoms. It gives control to the government instead of to the people.
Instead of trying to destroy the greatest country in the history of mankind, we need to fix our problems while at the same time keeping our freedoms alive.
Hatred, racism, domestic terrorism--they are not the way to fix our problems. Hatred will just eat you alive. It blinds you to the truth. Violence begets violence.
We have a thing called a ballot box. That is how we change things in the United States. By VOTING. You have the right to vote, and millions of people all over the world, especially in China, North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and other countries envy you to no end because you can vote--while they do not have that freedom.
Rome was defeated because they rotted from within. Other civilizations have failed for the same reason. It's like what happens to wood when termites infest it. You let the termites (domestic enemies) do their dirty work, then all it takes is a little push from the outside to crush it.
Once the wood was strong. Then it becomes weak internally. Then crushing it is easy.
Our nation is rotting within. The termites are busy destroying our very foundation. Do not let our country be destroyed by those who feed on, survive on, and embrace hatred, violence, and the hate for a race whose skin is a little lighter than theirs.
If you really cared about your freedom, if you really cared about your country, its history, the greatness of the American people--you would be proud to be an American and not ashamed to say--
