fiatlux

Have you read the entire Declaration of Independence? Do you know that the word "equal" in "all men are created equal" does not include blacks, native Americans, or whites without land? Did you know this document calls the indigenous natives "savages"? Did you know that the abolitionists conceded, under direct mortal threat to them and their families, not to include an anti-slavery clause to the Constitution? What is there to celebrate? This country started very badly. Worse than that: it was an abomination. Never mind Christians in the colonies violated Romans13:1-5 in their misbegotten efforts,

straightUp Loc: California

Wow, OK... so here's a post that would have earned you some insults from the "patriots" in the main section. :)

I agree that the United States was never the shining "City on a Hill" people make it out to be and to be. Being first generation American with a lot of relations overseas, it's easy for me to see how protected the American people are from their own history. The reason why students typically only get one year of U.S. history is because after filtering out all the bad shit, about one semester's worth of material is all there is to teach. Many students make it all the way through their adult life without ever suspecting there is another side to our history.

To be perfectly honest, my family views the 4th of July mostly as a chance to take a day from work and watch fireworks but we do try to make some connection to the meaning of the day.

I mentioned that I fly the Betsy Ross, which is one way I can express my dissent symbolically without offending any "patriots" in the neighborhood. But we also, take note of some of the great accomplishments made in this country that for some reason also gets left out of the official history books, I'm guessing because these great accomplishments didn't come from the generals, presidents and industrialists blazing the American path but from those they were stepping on in the process. I'm of course referring to heroes like Caesar Chavez and Martin Luther King... there's probably a hundred of them we could list, people that fought hard to make America a more humane place to be and when you look at some people in the third world or even in the U.S. as recently as 50 years ago, you can see that this is just what those heroes did for us.

fiatlux

There is something about America that is extremely hard to find anywhere else throughout history: to admit and correct openly its errors, however tardy. And its press is still relatively free to embarrass our Country's policies and procedures. Big Plus, given the past of Civilization. Like a drunken friend on my youth, who will remain nameless, all things considered, like him, America is not terrible. Plenty of really bad things, yet not truly bad at heart. C+.

And as you mentioned, this nation does seem to draw forth men of great character and strength. The notion of real equality and actual freedom takes over the soul of some.

America Only Loc: From the right hand of God