July 04, 2007
Proud Bias
As the fireworks begin in our neighborhood on this July 4th evening, I am reminded of a conversation I had with a friend several months ago. In the course of our talk, I made the statement that the United States has done much more good than bad in the world over the course of its existence. My friend told me that I probably have a biased view. I don't know if he believes our country is more harmful than helpful (it would not surprise me), but he's right about one thing: I am biased. If you're an American, you should be as well.
So happy Independence Day. You live in the greatest nation that has ever existed. A world without the United States would be a much, much darker place. We are not perfect; we have much to be ashamed of. But those who condemn us have neither a firm grasp of history or an appreciation of our contributions to the spread of freedom around the world.
Posted by Matthew at July 4, 2007 09:08 PMTrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.opaquelucidity.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/1165
I was listening to one of those "person on the street" kind of interviews his week and they had a Kindergarten teacher on there. She knew 4th of July was Independence day, but that was about it. She coudn't tell who we fought for independence, which war it was (she called it WW1 -SIGH!), who wrote the declaration of indpendence, or who was the 1st president (she said Lincoln). Makes me want to tear my teeth out!
Now I don't know if this was a set-up, and of course it makes for a good laugh, but I have heard/seen enough of these on TV or radio to make me believe that therein lies the root cause of the problem. There are enough people out there who have NO concept of what it takes/took to get our freedom. As a corollary to that, I wonder if the average high schooler today cares/knows about what America did in WW2.
I blame OUR generation. If we don't TEACH our kids/youth these things, we will create an entire generation of Americans who get their concept of America from the latest European Polls on CNN. I completely agree with Matt. If you're an American, you should be BIASED towards your country. I am not saying overlook it flaws. But be proud of your country and FIX its problems.
As I wrote in my blog on July 4, Celebrate - Teach - Remember.
We OWE it to the people who sacrifice every day so we may live free.
Posted by: Hash![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.opaquelucidity.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 5, 2007 09:51 AM
I am trying to get a conservative digg alternative going called GOP Hub (GOPHub.com). Anything you can do to help with this effort would be awesome. Plus feel free to submit any articles you write here on your blog :). Take care and have a great weekend!
Posted by: Jon at July 8, 2007 03:39 AM