Kippy's posts with tag: america
 Baseball and apple pie. ;) A graphic I created a year or so ago and now sell stock (minus the red, white and blue at the top).
Remember the old joke? Which countries have a fourth of July? All of them! Pa-dum-pum.
I don't think I ever really got the impact of our country's Independence Day until 1987, when I went to live in India for a year. Nothing like actually living in a society that has a different set of freedoms to help you appreciate your own. Some of the freedoms I experienced there within the first month of being there? The freedom to exact street justice and kill someone you (or your group) thinks deserves it ... right there on the street, if desired. The freedom to live in an opulent, gold-encrusted flat and walk past homeless beggars living under tarps every time you leave or come back home. The freedom to spray-paint "DIE, AMERICANS!" on brick walls down by the water. The freedom for some to use the shoreline as their own personal toilet. The freedom to be born into a caste system with a near inability to change your lot in life.
Now, I'm painting India as a terrible place, and it's really not. But their freedoms are definitely different from ours. When I went to a conference in New Delhi, they played the American National Anthem and I actually cried. I never really listened to the words, the music .. the feeling and meaning .. until that moment. Perspective. It's all about perspective, y'know?
Given the choice, I guarantee you I'd choose the freedoms we have.
The freedom to go for whatever education or job or life we want. Regardless of the situation we are born into.
The freedom to practice our own religious beliefs and discuss them with people around us.
The freedom to speak out about the things we don't agree with - to complain, to find fault, even the right to put all of that in writing! And to know that we likely aren't going to have a militant group bust into our house at night and shoot us and our entire family.
With the war in the Middle East, I think a lot of people aren't feeling overly "patriotic" (not in the traditional sense, anyway). I wouldn't go so far as to say that I "like" war - but I can safely tell you I am thankful to live in a country that is fighting to maintain my rights. And I'm thankful for all the service men and women who do this without even knowing me from Eve.
And as regards war? It happens. Ok, before you flip out and say "We can change - we can have peace!" hear me out. Can we, really? War (in either that term or others) exists in all of nature, as we know it. Animals fight for territory. Plants fight for sunlight. The truth of the matter is, the whole world acts on a "survival of the fittest" process. Life is a fight. A fight to the death ... literally. We always fight. When we get sick, we fight the disease, both with our body's own natural defenses and with medications. When someone threatens our family or our way of life, we fight against it. We defend. From the moment we are born, we fight. War is an integral part of life, and by default, it's the way we continue to survive.
I'm not a history buff. But here's what I see ... there was this group of people living in England and they were unhappy. Really unhappy. They didn't like the way things were going, so they decided to take a big risk and head off to another land mass to create a better place to live. Judging by how many people are emigrating to the U.S., both legally and illegally, I'd have to say they did a pretty good job. And I think our country's been fighting to maintain a certain set of standards ever since it was formed. I know a lot of people find a lot of faults with our country, but they forget all the amazing things the United States does for other countries, too. I'm not going to regurgitate the lists we all get in emails here, but I can tell you I am proud to be part of a country that immediately steps up to help people in need. I think collectively, we have awesome heart. :)
The more I travel, the more proud of America I am. And to those fighting to defend it? Thank you! You are a large part of, in my opinion, what makes us so great. Yes, there are some of you who are perpetuating the wrong idea of what we, as a country, are all about. But again, on the whole, I think you and your families, as a group, are sacrificing the most and are likely thanked the least. So, from me .. just one person, I know, but I thank you. I thank you for allowing me to be proud of where I live, and for the freedom to voice it when I'm not. Thank you for helping me feel safe to travel and take chances enjoy my life.
And to America? Happy Independence Day. Happy "Birthday", as it were. We're fighting the good fight, and living in a country that does a lot of good things, while fighting to maintain a society and lifestyle that would apparently seem the envy of a lot of people (not everyone) from around the world (again, judging by immigration information). Are we the best in every possible way? Absolutely not. But is anyone? Is it even possible?
My tangent's gone too far. :) I'm proud to be here and be part of this country that has fought and been fought over and been fought for. And I'm thankful. And I wish all of you in the U.S. or who are Americans living abroad a very happy Independence Day.
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