America? What’s to like?

At a recent book fair I picked up a book The American Patriot’s Almanac (Revised) by William J. Bennett and John T. E. Cribb. In one section of the preface they have listed “Twelve Great Reasons To Love A Great Country”. The twelve are listed below without the accompanying rationale provided by the authors.

  • The United States was the first nation in history created out of the belief that people should govern themselves.
  • America really is the land of the free.
  • No other country has done a better job of establishing equal rights for all citizens.
  • This is the place where dreams can come true.
  • We enjoy one of the world’s highest standards of living.
  • No other country has welcomed and united so many people from so many different shores.
  • The U.S. military is the greatest defender of freedom in the world.
  • America is a world leader in scholarship and invention.
  • Americans are among the most generous people on earth.
  • The United States is the world’s greatest marketplace for the free exchange of ideas and information.
  • This nation possesses an amazing capacity for self-renewal.
  • America is a nation that looks to God for guidance.

I think most who love this country could come up with other examples of why we love it and that is why we don’t like it when we hear people living here and enjoying all the freedoms we have make disparaging remarks. It is disappointing to have individuals and groups proposing changes to our way of life, our culture, our economic system, and our form of government that would eliminate many of the freedoms that we take for granted and that make our country a great place to live. Unfortunately, some immigrants in our country seem to not believe it’s a great place and it makes you wonder why they came here and why they stayed.

Many of the freedoms we enjoy are under attack not only by individuals and groups, but even our own government. The federal courts and the Supreme Court have so bastardized our Constitution and its original meaning that it is becoming almost meaningless. There are many members of the US Congress who not only don’t know what the original Constitution says, but don’t have a clue of what the framer meant and why we have a constitution in the first place. So many take the oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and then immediately do the opposite.