Point of View of a Proud American

I'm proud to be an American. I love my country and at different points in my life have had to prove that love and pride. No, not as an armed member of the military but as just a man, and I had to use my wits and a few times, my fists. I've been singled out in other countries, whether it be in a bar, waiting for a train, or standing in the checkout line buying groceries; I am an American!

I've listened patiently while people in these other countries take their hatred of the USA out on me. I then respond either with carefully thought out words or perhaps a single finger gesture (hey, I have bad days too!). America is #1...to us. It seems all countries have their nationalistic tendencies and none are waving banners that read "WE'RE #2!"

Why do they hate us? Basicially, its not a jealousy issue. Its basically because we're a nation of crybabies...and no one likes a crybaby. Look at the latest mess: we somehow managed to pass some watered down version of health care reform. Sure, its a start...but why do I get the feeling that the insurance companies were behind it all? I hear that insurance company stocks rose sharply yesterday (3/22/10). Hmmmmmm.

Rather than celebrate a victory or admit a defeat, we are all still crying about it. Some of us are thinking "we didn't get our way" and others are thinking "we didn't get enough of our way" while more still are just parroting slogans they've heard on TV or read somewhere. In short, we're all still whining...and really, who likes that?

Sure, the whole mess will get dragged to the Supreme Court...at which point, it will no longer matter. Our country's reputation as a mass of greedy, arrogant assholes will be further cemented in the eyes of the world. But who cares what they think, right? We saved their asses in WW2 didn't we? We bailed them out didn't we? Obviously, we've forgotten that like it or not, we're all on this planet together. What we do effects others and vice versa.

The world used to look up to the US. Now the world looks down on the US. And yet I am proud to be an American. I love my country.

Don't celebrate this as a victory just yet folks. We're still on the fast track to becoming a 3rd World Nation. We have little to bring to the table anymore. We don't manufacture anything...aside from bad media and hate. We hate ourselves so much and place such a high value on greed and possessions that we've lost sight of what's right & wrong. We have lost the respect of the world and we have lost our own self-respect. We deride each other over differences of beliefs. Sure, that's our right...but is it right? United we stand, divided we fall.
We now worry that we may have to pay more in taxes to fund this health care refrom. I, personally, would rather pay a small amount out of pocket over time than to get hit with a $100k hospital bill (which I have before). We like to think that we're a healthy country...but we're not. We're obese. We drink too much. We eat crappy processed food...and lots of it. We think that because we've grown fat as a nation, that we're doing well. We're not. Yet I'm proud to be an American. I love my big fat country.

America: the land of the free. Free to hate each other. Free to kill ourselves with fat-laden, carcinogenic fast food. Free to drink ourselves into oblivion. Free to fix the problems we face and Free to ignore the problems. Free to spew lies posed as truths.

I have a few questions and maybe YOU dear reader can answer them:

• When did we learn to hate each other so much that we value only our own individual beliefs?
• When did we stop caring about each other?
• When did the almighty buck become our raison d'etre?
• When did we stop being America?

I am proud to be an American. I love my country. I always have and I always will. I just wish it was a better place for all of us.