The Perks Associated with America

“No people who have ever lived on this earth have fought harder, paid a higher price for freedom, or done more to advance the dignity of man than Americans.”-Ronald Reagan

We are mired in an age of moral relativism where most everything is acceptable, personal responsibility is a diminishing principle, whiners over-engage in victimhood, standards are being dissolved, the value base is in decline, and feelings rule over logic in forming opinions. America bashing has also become fashionable thanks to the “blame-America-first” crowd. Admittedly, this is not a perfect nation by any means, but it is the greatest one ever created in the history of humankind. Therefore, a reminder is in order as to how lucky we are, and that things could be much worse.

Regardless of all of the unsubstantiated, hysterical, and frantic fear mongering doomsday fanaticism spewed forth by environmentalists in this country, America is still one of the least polluted nations in the world. We have the most sophisticated industrial technology and environmental regulations, which allow us to be so clean, of any country. Totalitarian nations like Russia and many of those in Eastern Europe have dead forests and three-eyed fish because there is no incentive for them to keep the land free of hazardous pollutants since private ownership does not exist. These countries also do not allow any environmental reporting. Capitalism makes the world a better place in more ways than one.

In Russia, China, and Cuba, just to name a few, the government controls the media. The citizens only hear and see what is intended for them (e.g., government propaganda). Presently China is referring to their pilot that died as a ‘revolutionary martyr’. In this country they are called ‘showboats’ and ‘hotdogs’, and should not be portrayed as national heroes. This guy saw Top Gun one too many times and tragically thought it was a cool idea to imitate what he saw. Sadly, the media in the U.S. is becoming more and more biased, and selective about what they cover. The Jesse Dirkhising case is a prime example. If you have never heard of it, then that is not surprising since most of the media choose not to cover it. Nonetheless, due to the still barely breathing first amendment, the freedom of speech and of the press almost guarantee that any and all viewpoints on a subject can be heard by the masses of people- theoretically anyway. All that needs to be done is to straighten the ‘slanted’ minds of those in the media so that all stories have an equal chance of being covered fairly and justly.

Despite our perpetually poor performance on international academic tests, we still have the best technology available to students than anywhere else. America spends more on education than most nations. Yet presently two-thirds of our fourth-graders lack proficiency in reading, and many graduate high school still unable to read! It just goes to show that Internet access cannot replace hard work, and the desire to learn. What we need to do is find a way to instill the value of education and the desire for knowledge in our young people; this is where good parenting is needed, not more government intervention.

Human rights in this country greatly exceed those of anywhere else, ever. This is why immigrants are risking their lives on a daily basis and coming over in droves from all over world. America is still a beacon to the oppressed, the dispossessed, and the poor because our standard of living is the highest it has ever been anywhere at anytime. They also realize what too many of us have forgotten; dreams can be fulfilled and anything can be had with hard work and determination. Too many of us believe that we are entitled to things, and play the victim role when we should be thankful for being here instead.

Slavery still exists in many places around the world. The ship with 250 slave children has been in the news just recently, but this sort of thing has gone on continuously for millennia. Africa has a plethora of other problems as well, too numerous to mention here. Many African nations have a smaller economy than most any city in the industrialized world. One in five households there have electricity, only two-thirds have access to adequate water, and three-fourths have no access to adequate sanitation. There are constant reports of such things as child killings, large-scale massacres, rioting, and rising domestic violence. South America is not much better.

The treatment of women is horrid all over the globe. Most male-dominated societies treat women like second-class citizens, or worse. The status of women has never been higher in the history of humankind than it is right now in the U.S.

Look at the leaders of the world. Zimbabwe’s justice minister, President Robert Mugabe, threatened Supreme Court judges there, who are not of his political persuasion, with violence unless they resigned. Recently the Namibian President Sam Nujoma ordered his police to “arrest, deport, and imprison” homosexuals and, thus, initiated state-sanctioned gay bashing. China also has similar policies toward gays, and, in fact, anyone who dies of AIDS is cremated on the spot.

Talks concerning getting our plane back have become futile because Chinese officials refuse to discuss it until they get more apologies. Their manic need to ‘save face’ verges on the absurd and may lead to serious problems between the two countries. Mexico’s president, Vicente Fox, admitted in March that torture has been a tool used in Mexico for centuries as part of the justice system and politicians there often get into fistfights! Fighting in the Middle East has been going on incessantly for centuries and no seems to be able to stop it.

Let’s examine our health care system. The U.S. has the best medical knowledge and technology, the most funding, and the least amount of disease than any other country. The FDA provides us with the best food quality, and our sanitation is unparalleled. Socialistic health care systems, like that which exists in Canada, are going broke. Reports now show that 25 million people in Africa have AIDS, and the rate of infection is 25%. All sorts of varied diseases run rampant all over the world on a much more drastic scale than here. How many people have you met with malaria or scurvy? It is said that ‘the plague’ still exits in some parts of the world!

Here in America we have the most personal freedom, an outstanding economy, the most comfortable lifestyle, the best opportunities, the greatest form of government, and I could go on and on. Sadly, our prosperity has spawned a spoiled leisure class. Values such as hard work, self-reliance, respect for the law, and love for country are being replaced with entitlement, laziness, disrespect, and contempt for America. We must maintain those values that have made us the greatest nation in the history of the world, and take measure not to lose them. Also, we all have ancestry from other parts of the world, and we are all proud of our heritage; however, we are here now so let’s be proud of being American too, shall we?