Freedom

I must confess, I love reading other blogs from people of all walks of life. I recently read one from a Tibetan freedom fighter who just happens to live down the street from me (never knew that until I read the blog). Tibet has been occupied by China for a very long time and the Tibetan people are fighting to keep their culture alive while the Tibetan government is in exile. His blogs about the long and winding journey are really quite moving.

Sometimes I feel like we, like Tibetans, are losing our own culture and the principles that we were founded on. However, no matter how disenfranchised I feel with the government and the people in power who have dark motives, I still believe in America. I still believe in Freedom.

Uber Blogger Bill Hobbs had a great piece today that is really a comment on a political statement that recently made the headlines, however, I thought I would share anyway.

Proud

From the moment I was old enough to understand the concept of a country, of nationhood and of America, I have always been proud of my country. I have not always agreed with everything my country's government - local, state or federal - has done, but I have never not been proud of my country.

My pride in my country does not rest on a certain candidate or party. being ahead in the polls or drawing large crowds, or winning elections. I was proud of my country when the inept Jimmy Carter occupied the White House and shredded the country's economy, military and spirit while retreating around the world in the face of expanionist Soviet communism. I was equally proud of my country when Ronald Reagan saved it from economic ruin, rebuilt the military, revived the American spirit and faced down Soviet communism, leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union a few years after he left office.

Why? Because America has always been more than a country, more than a nation, more than a territory with borders and a flag. America is an idea, that all people are created equal and deserve to live in freeom. It is the only country on Earth built on that foundation. Has it always lived up perfectly to those ideals? No. Will it in the future? No. Because while the American ideal is great, America is made up of people, and people make mistakes and do things they shouldn't do.

I do not have to look out on the campaign trail and see large crowds cheering for my favorite candidate in order to be proud of my country