I was putzing around reading blogs when I visited Dad of Divas. He has a post about what it means to be an American to him and asked for input on what it means to others. So I gave my, never to be confused with humble, opinion of what it means to me. Here is what I said:
Great post and great question. What it means to me to be American seems to big and overwhelming to put into words. For me it means so much. I feel like hit the lottery by being born in this country. It means Freedom. And with that freedom comes responsibility.
I have the freedom and rights to pursue my own happiness. My choices and my life are my own. Success or failure is my own, without the interference from or fear of my government. I may speak my mind, protect my family and worship my God. I have a voice in my government. I have a profound admiration for thousands of men and women who are willing to die to protect these freedoms for me, even if I am total jerkwad.
Now onto responsibilities. I have the responsibility of my own life in my hands. I can blame no one else for my failings or short comings. I have the responsibility to vote, no matter how I feel about the candidates. I have the responsibility to God, the God who granted me the inalienable rights mentioned in our constitution, to care for my fellow man and those less fortunate than myself(there are many ways to do this outside of government). I have the responsibility to contribute to society in a positive way. I have the responsibility to teach my children the ideals and history of this great nation and to teach them to honor and live up to those ideals so that those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for my children have not done so in vein.
All of these statements can not even begin to do justice to the pride and emotion that wells up inside of me when I think about what it means to me to be an American, nor does it do justice to my gratitude to those who have gone before me to make these freedoms possible.
I invite all my readers (both of you), to add what it means to you to be an American. Or to those who live elsewhere (yeah, I'm shooting a little high) to give your opinions (I can always delete them).
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3 comments:
Wow, you have an awesome passion for your country - that was lovely to read.
I feel the same way about my Canada :)
Thank you. I feel that true patriotism (stemming from ideals that a nation is built upon) is a beautiful thing. And anyone, from anywhere who can look at their nation as a whole and be proud has been blessed.
It's funny being a Canadian. I'm so proud to be one, but to be able to explain it like that would be hard. I watched National Treasure 2 recently and besides being a fun movie to watch, there are shades of true, I believe it's called Patriotism in there. I rarely hear people talk about Canada that way. strange. Is it also strange that the two of us to comment so far are Canadian?
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