Land of the Free 

I was just looking through the articles on Democratic Underground trying to find something that I could rant about (I'm getting desperate for subject matter here, people), and as I read about how Bush is a lying, warmongering Nazi who wants to sell the entire world to Halliburton and build an oil pipeline in Iraq, I suddenly realized something very important. America is a great country because I was able to do exactly what I was doing.

I was reading the opinions of a few people who strongly disagree with the government, and some of them even hate the government and the president. And yet, nobody is stopping them. They're allowed to say whatever they want, and the reader can decide what's valid and what's a load of crap.

As much as they say that Dubya has created an environment of fear, or sent out his brown shirted minions, or forced people to blindly follow him, or revived McCarthyism, the fact that they're still allowed to say that proves that we live in the greatest country in the history of the world.

I realize these people are idiots, and I don't agree with them, but I came to that decision by looking at what they had to say, analyzing it, and comparing it to reality. Why is this possible?

Because this is America, and we are free to look at all sides of all issues and form our own conclusions. In this country, we have freedom of speech because we assume that there are enough intelligent people around to cancel out the idiots.

There's no fascist crushing of dissent, as much as some people would have us believe otherwise. There's just disagreement. There's debate. And hopefully, most people will figure out which side has the best argument, and will therefore be able to determine who is right. It's all up to us.

Now, my own activity is another example of why America is such a great country. I'm 18 years old. I'm a freshman in college. I lived with my parents until 2 months ago. And yet, during much of that time, I was able to access information from all kinds of different sources and from a vast range of media.

Now that I'm on my own, despite the fact that I have little credibility in the "real world," I'm free to write anything I want, click a mouse a couple of times, and make it available for anyone in the world to see. I didn't have to go through the government or fill out a form saying that I would avoid certain topics. I can write about anything, and if people disagree, they're free to let me know.

I've gotten slightly off topic, but the point is that I'm only 18 years old, but I have the same ability to have my opinions heard as anyone else with a computer and a brain. It's truly a beautiful thing. What other country in history has ever had this much freedom?

THIS IS WHY TERRORISTS HATE US! It makes me mad when people blame us for terrorist attacks and say that we don't understand them.

I understand them perfectly. They look at America and see all these freedoms that they don't have, and they want to blow stuff up. That's not our fault. That's like a rapist saying, "Well, she looked so hot! How can you blame me?"

And here's another thing to think about: If the terrorists that are against us because they're jealous somehow found a way to get here and, by a miraculous change of heart, wanted to stay and experience it for themselves instead of committing suicide so they could take part in some heavenly orgy, they would be able to do that.

Why? Because we can make anybody a citizen if they're willing to prove they want to be here. We may have some problems, and we may make mistakes, but we've come a long way in 227 years, and we're not going to stop now.

Call Bush a fascist all you want. Complain that your civil liberties are being violated. Gripe and complain that some harmless comment offends you. You're free to do all those things, and due process of law will decide whether your claims are valid. Why? Because you're a freakin' American, that's why.

I don't care what anybody says. To me, America is still a place where anybody can grow up to be president, and anybody can achieve any goal if they're willing to work with what they have. So, instead of complaining about how you're being oppressed and comparing the president to Hitler, get out in the world and improve it.

If you believe in something, support it instead of whining about how it doesn't get enough support. If you're worried about poverty, donate money to charity. That's what America is all about. You have the freedom to take action and change the world, and as long as it's legal, nobody can stop you.

I think I should stop before I go into a string of cliches. Anyway, that's my endorsement of America. I've heard enough childish whining and false accusations. If you don't like this country, get the crap out. You're free to do that, too.

That's about it for me. I'm going to link to another article I read today about patriotism that is much more direct than this one. It's from VRWC, and it's quite possibly the most well-written thing I've ever seen on that particular blog. Check it out:

Patriotism, by James Finch

Oh, and one more thing; In this country, we have a thing called freedom of religion, and as much as the ACLU wants to deny that, it's as valid today as ever. Therefore, I'm free to say...

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Thank you for your time.

Posted by CD on October 26, 2003 12:45 AM
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