I’m so American and it took a trip to Greece for me to figure that out. Spending ten days in Europe made me realize just how patriotic I really am. I am not talking about blind patriotism for a bunch of crooked politicians, including our fearless leader bumblin’ Bush, but rather patriotism that reflects my pure love for America and the freedom it was founded on. The resources and technology American possesses and the high standard of living we come to expect are things that we don’t even think about until we don’t have access to them. By no means was going to Greece like visiting a third world country, but in those ten days I missed the things that make America what it is.

Being away from the United States also made me extremely upset about the state of affairs that our government is in and the negative views foreign citizens have towards our government right now. I overheard quite a few comments about our angry, stupid president from Tex-ass, and the sad thing was that I couldn’t defend my nation against these verbal attacks because I agreed with them. Our foreign democracy and world policies are atrocious (as are our environmental, health care, human rights, and educational policies). Our government feels that they can do no wrong and that all countries must bow down to them at all times. Understandably this attitude has resulted in the United States getting a bad name in global society. There was a time in the no to distant past that almost everyone, regardless of where they were born, dreamed of coming to America and living in freedom, but now people have only negative thoughts and images of America. The senseless war we have started in Iraq and the threats of another major war with Iran has resulted in our country looking like a bunch of violence obsessed obese hate mongers that want to pollute the world with our love of burning fossil fuels, spreading narrow minded religious views, forcing unrealistic economic and political ideologies, and generally conquering the world in order to have the luxury of driving our mammoth SUVs that eat a gallon of gasoline every seven miles.

 

I love the ideas in which the United States was founded upon, but it keeps me up at night thinking about how far we have fallen from grace with the world. Unfortunately, right now I don’t see a golden path that will lead the United States back to glory, but I do dream about that path when I am able to sleep.