With Independence Day passing, I figured it was high time to salute my country and its citizens.
Are we perfect? Far from it.
Do we argue like spoiled 10-year olds? As a matter of fact, we do.
However, if you are from another country, do you get to join in our criticisms? Not on your life.
I deem our country much in the same manner as most do their family. Me and mine are allowed to speak ill of it, but outsiders? Not unless you want to get punched in the mouth. And this includes Canadians … OK, that’s a joke. We, as a nation, are constantly duplicated but never replicated.
We do many, many things wrong in this country and, I, like many others point these issues out as much as possible. And I will continue to do so. That’s one of the things that make this country great.
However, we also do many things right in this country. Our forefathers set us up in pretty good shape. And we have, however begrudgingly, continued to move forward in hopes of making a better society.
Have we stuck our noses into and stirred up turmoil around the world, particularly in the
We have spent countless dollars rebuilding, improving or setting up hope in country after country around the world. And often it’s done while the receiving country has one hand out taking our money and aid while the other hand gives us the finger.
We stand idly by while other countries speak ill of us, burn our flags and throw shoes at our president. Does this sound like the actions of the big, bad bully as so many would have the world believe? All I know is the last time I ran my mouth at a bully, I came home with a black eye.
The very fact that I can write, speak and record disparaging remarks about our government and leaders and not end up with my arm or head chopped off speaks to the fantastic qualities of our republic.
We have been the world’s police for nearly five decades now. And while we have had our Rodney King moments, we have also gotten it right on occasion. Following 9/11, we teetered on the verge of an isolationist state, but true to our form, we maintained our melting pot roots, moved forward and became stronger for it
We live by the rule of law and while that has been tested with more regularity of late, it has remained a cornerstone of our society since 1787. For those of you that do not know, that’s the year the constitution was written, which is our Supreme Law of the Land.
We, as a nation, should be allowed to pat ourselves on the backs at least once a year. Afterward, we should all get back to the heavy lifting of attempting to create a better society.
Richard Clark is the consolidated desk chief for Halifax ENC; his column appears in this space every Sunday. You can reach him at 910-219-8452 or at Richard.Clark@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @kpaws22.