Love is patient, kind, and charitable. It sticks through good times and bad. If you love someone, you may have a frank word with them, try to change them, occasionally yell at them. But you *never* disrespect them. Never. Once in a while I remember I love my country, and how much. Tonight was one of those times.
I ate dinner tonight at the local Vietnamese restaurant. It was hard to get a seat because a couple local families - about 25-30 people in each - were sitting in there, in long banks of tables put together. They were getting a start on the July 4th Independence Day holiday. They were talking about the coming fireworks, making sure the kids ate their Pho, and talking about daily business. There were some elderly folks, middle aged folks, and families with young kids. All of them over the age of 30 spoke English with strong Vietnamese accents. It kind of brought it home to me what a great country we have and how lucky we are to be here. We fool around on our bicycles. Most of us have nice cars and homes, out of our own volition. We have jobs that pay well, where we do stuff. We have personal economic and political autonomy. If we want to be Mr. Plastic Fantastic we can, and if we want to let our freak flag fly, or live in a cabin in West Virginia, we can. This really struck me as I was looking at the Vietnamese families that surrounded us - our local Vietnamese community emigrated in the mid-70's, they were boat people. They risked everything to have freedom. Maybe they take it for granted, but I doubt it. You don't get together to have a celebration feast like that unless it means something to you. Man that's awesome, seeing those new Americans getting down on the Nation's Birthday. I'm glad they're here. The pie's big - we can afford to share it because in our system, every new person who comes here is expected to help make an even bigger pie. It's a tough system in a way, it makes you be strong like an Irish matriarch, but it seems to work.
It's a great country we live in friends. I guess she has some flaws; maybe we oughtta have a couple words with her about it. But today is her birthday, we can talk tomorrow, once she's enjoyed her annual day in the sun.
In that spirit, have some straight up hooo - rah.
And here, if you like your love of country cut with a little bit of Tequila and maybe some stuff The Man frowns on, have a little Stevie Ray doing the National Anthem:
Need to put a little funk in your trunk? Have some Ray Charles, singing "America the Beautiful."
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I don't think it matters how you love this country, as long as you get your love on and try to appreciate how good you have it, and answer if she calls. I don't know if it's the best place in the world; all I know is it's better for me than any other place I've lived, and there's no way I could have the good life I have anywhere else that I've been. Do I have some beefs with how things are run from time to time? Sure. But like anybody else I love, I'm not going to get all spiteful about it. We're going to have a quiet word or two, maybe I'll write a note or two about it, but I can't afford momentary lapses in her behavior to affect the overall relationship. When you get right down to it, she gives a lot more good stuff to us than we give back.
Thanksgiving Day is nice, it's a great holiday, but this is my real day of thanks.
I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to go and spend Independence Day riding my bike, having some fun with my family, drinking a High Life, and counting my blessings.
8 comments:
Happy Independence Day Jim.
My bro-inlaw just moved back here this week after retiring from the navy. His 2 sons have lived with him in Italy all their lives. My 14 year old daughter asked them what they did on the 4th in Italy. They said it was just another day there. She just couldn't grasp that they didn't celebrate Independance Day like we do, since it's another country. So much for being a 4.0 student meaning anything now days...
Boz
4.0 is a relative term.
I heard an educational psychologist talk about the "internalisation" of the US education system. I had to ask what he meant. Your example would have fitted nicely. They may as well be broadcasting propaganda from the street corners.
BM... as independent as they'll let me.
Actually, it doesn't sound like that bad of a question to me if she is asking what "They" (As U.S. Citizens I presume) did in Italy, rather than what "They" (Italians) did on the 4th. Where they cut off totally from all other Americans on the base, etc,..?
I would celebrate it some way if I was living abroad. Even if it's just a thought. My wife sang the Singapore National Anthem on Singapore National Day with some other crazy Singaporean once out in front of our apartment.
Actally, the boy lived most of the time with their mother, a native Italian. Though they are "Americans" technically, they are culturaly italians. They are being tutored this summer to catch up on reading and writing english, even though they speak it well. They do swear very well, since dad is a career navy chief-LOL.
I spent the better part of a decade living abroad. I used to invite the furr-in-ners over for a throw down on July 4th. I've had ironically appreciative Germans, blissed out Belgians, confused and sulking Croatians, bemused French, Danes who *got it*, plastered and joyous Sikhs, Swedes who didn't buy the cause but were down for the party, and plenty of bewildered Brits in my back yard eating fire grilled red meat and god-knows-what-meat hot dogs. (The Brits, naturally, insisted that they only quit because we really weren't holding onto). I think I may have also celebrated the 4th with some Kenyans one year, but the details remain foggy, but I remember how to order beer in Swahili (Moja pombe, tafadhali!) and that msut have come from somewhere. For some reason the Belgians - among the least nationalistic people I have ever known* - seemed to most appreciate the simple minded love of country that most Americans enjoy.
*Belgian nationalism is a non-sequitur, but that concept is distinct from Belgian regionalism, which is exceedingly strong stuff.
Great post Jim. Hope to meet you one day, or if I have already met you, at least put a face with your name/blog.
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