![Image]()
Well my thoughts about blue state governors is going to get pushed to Part 37 because I want to present this piece from Steven Olivo. I agree that America is still worth fighting for in the year 2020.
That sounds almost retro in this era of self-loathing self-flagellation and endless guilt with a double dose if youre white a triple dose if youre also male. But Im not here to talk about identity politics as much of an issue as they may be. Im here to talk about how despite the endless criticism leveled at this country some fairly some not so fairly some sincerely meant to move us closer to the best we can be some from those who criticize everything and can never be satisfied with anything there are still valid reasons that our young people don the uniform and put their lives on the line every day.
1. Ours is still the greatest economy in the world. No matter how you slice it even on our worst day our economy is more than a quarter again the size of the next biggest economy that of China and four times the size of the third that of Japan. After that the economies just get smaller. Thats because we have the resources we have the expertise we have the room for innovation we know how to use all of them and we let those who know how to use them best do so.
2. Ours is still a Constitution often imitated but never duplicated that gives our people the most freedom anywhere in the world. Thats because the underlying basis of it is that the government must trust the people if it wants them to trust it. A few nations including some surprising ones (the UK New Zealand) have no constitution at all meaning the individual rights you and I take for granted could be voted away there tomorrow. Many other nations didnt even have any kind of guarantee of basic rights until well into the 20th century. Even where they do have them quite often they are more aimed at keeping the community civil and orderly than free. In some countries (Austria Germany) you can be jailed for displaying a symbol in others (Turkey) for speaking out against the majority or disparaging its founder in still others for daring to criticize current policy. This is before we even talk about the right to keep and bear arms or the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures or the rights of criminal defendants a lot of which are greatly curtailed or nonexistent elsewhere.
3. Ours is still one of the most welcoming nations in the world for those who come here legally. Over the centuries weve welcomed people from almost all of the 196 nations in the world right now and successfully incorporated them to become productive members of society. Some have fled wars. Some have fled tyranny. Some simply come seeking a better life and are willing to play by the rules and work hard for it. Every July 4th we swear in thousands of these new citizens. Our main problem despite what others might tell you is with the folks who ARENT willing to play by the rules or do the necessary work to become part of this society.
4. Ours is a nation where advances are made. That wasnt always the case but where Japan produces electronics Germany produces automobiles and South Korea produces both cheaper and quicker we make the first foray into cyberspace we harness light to cut through steel and perform life-saving surgery we build aircraft that cant be seen heard or detected until theyre right on top of you and we put men on the moon. Name the last five major European medical breakthroughs? They arent there because single payer health care takes away the impetus to make advances.
5. Ours is a nation that helps others. Who was there when Indonesia was flooded through no fault of its own? Who was there when Japan got so shaken by earthquakes that nuclear plants were getting destroyed and polluting land and sea? And thats just some of the more recent stuff we havent even touched the really major efforts like the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe from the ashes of World War II which we did not have to do. When New Orleans was flooded by Hurricane Katrina and the New Jersey Shore and Long Island were left helpless by Superstorm Sandy no one from anywhere else did so much as pump out a basement. Although firemen came from as far away as Chicago and LA to help their brothers when the Twin Towers lay in ashes I dont recall any international smoke-eaters coming in to work the pile."
6. Ours is a nation that forgives. Yes we certainly know about realpolitik and how to use the enemy of my enemy and how todays enemy can be tomorrows friend and vice versa. We also know our history and we know we had help coming to be mostly from France. We paid that debt when rushed to Frances aid when they were in danger of falling. We liberated them again when they DID fall even though we didnt have to. By all rights we could have left Germany and Japan in ruins. They tried to conquer the world. We didnt and today we are allies. By all rights we could have told the UK whod been our enemy twice and actually built ships to be used against us that they were on their own against Hitler and a few communities here wanted to do just that. We didnt. We have embassies in Havana and Hanoi the capitals of nations that were our sworn enemies for years. We have every right to hold grudges and if we did we could make a lot of other nations lives miserable but we dont.
7. Ours is a nation of great opportunity. I wont deny that many folks who did well here including many on both sides of the political aisle were born into wealth. That happens all over the world. However this is the nation where Andrew Carnegie started as a poor immigrant with nothing and became one of the worlds richest men by discovery how to purify steel. Its the nation where Athinasios Karvelas started selling ice cream with one old truck and later became Tom Carvel with 500 franchises nationwide. Its also the nation where a decidedly ordinary engineer named Jeff Bezos launched amazon and a whiz kid from White Plains named Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook.
8. Ours is a nation that somehow manages to hold it together despite being possibly the most heterogenous anywhere. Americans come from every continent color creed and class the world over but somehow in the almost 250 years since we declared our independence weve had a few rough patches but only one civil war over the questions of state vs. Federal power and whether we would continue to allow slavery. Can other more homogenous nations make that claim? The UK which fought over five ruling dynasties and a messy civil war over religion? France who went through two kingdoms two empires and five republics in the same time weve been around? The Scandinavian nations who dont seem to have been able to decide exactly which one of them was in charge for centuries? India which had to split into a Muslim nation and a nation composed mostly of Hindus to avoid tearing itself apart upon becoming independent?
9. Ours is still the deadliest nation in the world. A few other nations may have more men under arms and before the war on terror there were others who had more battle experience but our armed forces still boast the most sophisticated missiles the fastest and most advanced aircraft the best training with the most strategic depth and an ability to project power anywhere in the world unsurpassed by any other nation and unstoppable.
10. Ours is still the nation all other nations look to. For a while the world took its cues from London and Paris. After that Berlin and Vienna joined the club. Then all those flags fell and the world looked to Washington and Moscow for fifty years. At this point Moscows star has faded and like it or not this is the nation all others look to. Hopefully thats how it stays.
Please visit my Facebook page DNMs World.
