It's nice to see that some people are still patriotic. I'm always amazed at the number of people at baseball games who don't take off their hats for the star spangled banner (and who don't do any other "patriotic stuff" to boot)

We have a problem in this country - -- we're spoiled. Most of us don't realize how lucky we have it. I heard one guy on talk radio this morning who was angry because the DNR has placed salmon on the endangered species list in Maine. He said "The feds are gonna step in and they're gonna screw it up. When's the last time you heard of the feds doing something smart and cost effective? Never!"

Well, I'll be the first to admit the "feds" have their flaws, but we also have one of the most impressive countries on the planet. In fact, with all due respect to those of you from other countries, I would venture to say we may even have THE most impressive country on the planet. Reason being: What other country out there can say they got started barely more than 200 years ago, a miserable hovel of a nation with no speakable army, no reliable money system (I'm sorry but having about 200 different types of printed money, none of which was compatible with each other, is NOT a reliable money system), no effective government (under the Articles of Confederation, the US government was little better than a figurehead), and who had some of the most powerful nations in the world as it's enemies, and then in the space of 200-odd years turned itself around to be the world's only super power? That's pretty impressive.

But americans today don't think of it like that. . They complain that the election took too long this year. Oprah, in one of her many moments of brilliance, came out and said we have no leader (uhhh. . . has she forgotten about President Clinton?) They don't think about the fact that in many countries there would be no election, and the only way for a different ruler to be appointed would be through a military coup or an assasination.

We also like to say how tarnished the whitehouse is because of Clinton's sex scandal. I really don't see that. First off, the integrity of the presidency is not dependant upon the actions of one president. If it were, Nixon already destroyed it, so Clinton didn't have anything to break in the first place. Second, we idolize Thomas Jefferson, who also had an affair on his wife, and, even using Clinton's definition, DID have sexual relations with "that woman." So why can Jefferson get away with it when Clinton can't?

Just rambling ;)




> What with the election fun and the approaching Thanksgiving Feast I thought I'd like to post my thought on what it is to be an American.
>
> First, how do you pronounce 'United States of America'? I believe some one earlier pronounced it united STATES of america. Not me, that elevated the divisions in our country, the divisions between states, and by extension the divisions between whites and minorities, men and women, urban sub-urban and rural, east coast and west coast, north and south, rich and poor, immigrant and natural born. That isn't how I see it. We are the UNITED states of AMERICA. I was raised a vagrant, a military brat, I've lived on both coasts, I've lived out in the tundra that is Wyoming, I've lived near the tide pools of Monterey and the highways of LA, I've lived in suburbia, and on a rural route, and I've lived in the Shadow of an Active Volcano across the sea because Uncle Sam sent my father there. I've never considered myself a New Yorker, a Californian, a Pennsylvanian, a Wyoming, or a North Carolinian; I'm an AMERICAN. I love this country, from sea to shining sea. From the tip of Maine to the Rio Grand. To me America isn't a collection of 50 different pieces but one great whole, far more than the sum of its parts. I love this country so much, that despite the fact Batman has a better costume, more toys, a meaner attitude and will cheat, I firmly believe Captain America would beat him down because Cap is the Avatar of this Country and America RULES! We aren't perfect, we've stumbled, and we've done some terrible things, but we continue on and try to make up for our mistakes. So I say God Bless America and Happy Thanksgiving!
>
> Speed'Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, for the land of the Free and the Home of the Brave'ball