In the old days it was traditional for newspapers to reprint “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” every Christmas season. Those same newspapers are now afraid to say “Christmas”. At BLSays, our tradition is to reprint Blondie’s “Why I Love America” essay every 4th of July.
Also, a few words about a recent BLSays column that attracted “just a bit” of attention.
That last column – Those Chinese Still Don’t Care – hit cyber space like a Malibu brush fire fueled by a Santa Ana wind. When the final view totals are in, it may topple Carolina Married A Stripper as #1 BLSays column on this subject. Until, of course, the column when this mess goes nuclear nasty. When Silent Sam gets so disgusted he will climb down from his pedestal and move to a double wide outside Siler City.
Thanks to many of you who commented on that column. They provided an excellent discussion on this steaming pile of crap.
As public opinion of this mess ebbs and flows, two aberrant subfactions will endure:
(1) Hard-core Tru-Blues who refuse to believe Carolina could ever be guilty of any malfeasance because “We are Carolina and we simply don’t do anything wrong ….” …. YIKES! Hark The Sound & Pass that Kool-Aid.
(2) Hard-core Wuffs who are slamming Marvin and his posse; but a few years ago they were cheering fans of the Killian High hoodlums that Chuck was sneaking in and that primo student-athlete (??) TA McLendon. …. YIKES! – Pots & kettles are both black.
A pox on both of the above factions. Big Time College Football is a hazardous undertaking. Yuck. Ptui!
Blondie wrote this piece back in 2007 for our pal Toronto talk show host Jerry Agar. It has held up well in the ensuing years. I’d like to say I helped her craft these powerful words but I didn’t. I was probably writing some dumb sports column while she was actually “saving Western Civilization”. Bless her heart!
I love the Bill of Rights – which defines the limits on government. Free speech means you can criticize the government and there is nothing they can do about it, absolute privacy and religious freedom were unique when the Constitution was written and remain rare in the world even today.
I love the Rule of Law – that it applies to us all, no matter our station in life. It may seem that the rich and powerful are treated better in the system, but in America the rich and powerful can and do go to jail from time to time while the least powerful and the poor have the right to confront their accusers, the right to an attorney, the right to remain silent, the right to refuse admission to government officials wanting to enter their home or office.
I love Wal-Mart and capitalism (the greatest economic ism of all.) Wal-Mart started as a one man rural, somewhat rinky-dink operation in Arkansas and grew to be the biggest retailer in the world because serving the customer served the business. That is how capitalism works. ….. Socialism and communism claim to spread the wealth, but only spread the inefficiency and misery. You don’t even have to shop at Wal-Mart to benefit. Their massive competitive presence in the retail world lowers prices for everyone.
I love Baseball…it is the perfect democratic sport. Anyone can play. Not in the big leagues but in the vacant lot down the street. You do not need to be big, strong, fast, smart, broad, tall, black, white, male, female, smart, rich to play. …. Anyone can play with minimal equipment…. Your individual excellence is just slightly more important then the group effort. Just like America… It is pure. Yes, ruined by money and fame and steroids. …. But at it’s essence, it is pure and America.
I love that elections in America are contentious, messy, rancorous and maddening, but we vote without fear. And then a peaceful transfer of power takes place and nobody gets shot.
I love that America was one of the very first nations in the world to put an end to slavery. The story of slavery in America was no different than anywhere else except that we stopped a lot sooner. That needs to be mentioned whenever the topic comes up.
I love Freedom of Religion. I love my religion. I may not love yours or I may be indifferent to it. Doesn’t matter. It is yours and you are free to practice it as long as it stays within the law regarding the rights of your fellow citizens. We don’t really care for the sacrificing of virgins on a mountain top.
I love the upward mobility and self realization that is possible here. Poor men from towns with no traffic lights have grown up to become president. One day a woman will take the job and so will people of all ethnic backgrounds. Most millionaires did not start out wealthy. They make it on their own and they can do it because in America we have the opportunity to profit from our skills and effort.
I love how charitable Americans are. A recent report reconfirmed that Americans give more private money to charity than the citizens of any other country. We also give our time and expertise. When we give to disaster relief, as we did for Katrina, we know that some of it will be mismanaged, we give it anyway. A lot of it will help out, and that is what matters.
I love hot dogs and hamburgers and pancakes and popcorn and hushpuppies. American food.
I love that jazz, the blues, rock and roll, gospel and country music are all American, even though I don’t know squat about jazz and very little about the blues. I do know that without them the rock and roll I love would not be what it is.
I love that America’s voluntary military is voluntary and powerful. Most armies are neither.
I love that I can hop in my car and go where ever I want and no one cares.
I love all the memorials in DC. But the WWII has this big fountain in the center where groups of school kids laugh and play around the fountain – carefree and happy. ….. Sitting on the benches, around the fountain you can see older men with their veteran hats on watching the children. ….. The kids are so free because those men fought for them. It made me weep on the spot. I love that.
I love the regional differences we have…north, south, east, west, Midwest. While those differences are diminishing with technology, there is still a difference that you can really only know if you live in a place for a while. But yet, even in our differences we are still Americans. Different in so many ways, connected – a family.
I love that we are so free that we have the time and energy to invent things like iPods and iPhones and Viagra.
I love The Flag. It is so simply beautiful to me. It is cheerful and optimistic. It is just cloth but such a hopeful piece of fabric.
I love that our daughter has so many options open to her. The sky is the limit and the world is her oyster. Her only limitations are ones she puts on herself.
I love that America takes care of the world. While we get little or no credit or thanks, often we get only criticism, we still do it. We are always there to help with all of our resources.
I love Our History. The old fashion kind we learned in school before political correctness. I love all of those dead white men, who with all of their own prejudices and flaws, built a nation that affords freedom to men and women of all colors and creeds to a greater degree than, even they might have imagined.
