Happy birthday, USA! Despite concerns I have about some of the directions our country is headed, I still love it. It was a grand experiment 250 years ago; imperfect but with great ideals. We slowly made things more and more right according to those ideals. We still have a ways to go, but we can appreciate what is good and strive to improve.
What do you love about this country? I love many things. The natural beauty, of course. The USA invented the concept of a National Park, and it’s easy to see why. And the food! Every region has its own great cuisine. My mom told me the other day that visiting spectators for the World Cup are really enjoying the food here.
But the main thing I love is the people. The mix of peoples, starting with the Native Americans, then the European colonists, the Africans brought as slaves and eventually freed, and then other cultural groups from around the world coming as immigrants all contribute to the strength of this country. Especially when we all work together.
It’s easy to be jaded and assume that people are only self-serving. But I know firsthand that most people here are more than willing to help each other. Case in point with a small, insignificant example: just last week, I attended the World Beat Festival in Salem. After wandering around the booths and eating some delicious food, I settled down on the riverbank to watch my friends in the Dragon Boat races. And realized that my phone was missing. Panicked, I retraced my steps and made my way to the Guest Services tent. Thank God, someone had turned in my phone. I was so grateful to the good stranger who turned it in, and happy that I had one more reason to believe in humanity.
I have more examples of the amazing kindness of people from some of my travels that I’d like to share, but I think I’ll save those for another post. For now, I’ll leave you with the poem from the bottom of the Statue of Liberty. Evidently, it was written by a woman who helped aid Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe in the 1800s. I hope we can live up to its ideals of helping people in need. Photo is Public Domain from the National Park Service, taken from Wikipedia.
What do you see in this country? What experiences of kindness have you had here? What are your favorite places? Feel free to comment below.
The Compass Rose Queen 