I’m Still Proud to be an American

If tomorrow all the things were gone, I'd worked for all my life. And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife.

I'd thank my lucky stars, to be livin here today. ‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom, and they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.

-Lee Greenwood

Love that song.

This is a little off-topic from our usual personal growth and development theme, but with the 4th of July closing in, I wanted to take a minute to say that even with all the bad stuff you see on the news, I for one am still proud to be an American.

No, I'm not proud of a few outspoken individuals that feel the need to lump people into groups and make broad generalizations which while might be true of certain individuals, do not apply to everyone.

No, I'm not proud of some of the things that have been said and done over the years.

What I'm proud of is the fact that the flag still stands for freedom.

Americans have freedoms that many in the world do not have, things we often take for granted.

Freedom to speak our minds, to publically disagree when we don't think something is right.

Freedom to vote on issues that matter to us, to elect those who we believe can make a difference, with little fear of retaliation.

Freedom to pursue personal growth and development so that we can reach our dreams.

Freedom from abject poverty. We have first-world problems like my Android's battery is dead, not I don't have food and water today. How many of us have gone more than a few days, or even most of a day without food, water, and shelter, unless it is self-inflicted? That is common in some countries still today.

Our women and children can walk freely with little risk of being harmed. While certainly, we've heard about incidents on the news, how many of us have actually been shot at? How many of us have had bombs explode in our neighborhoods recently? When was the last time you saw someone get arrested or shot for what they said or wore? We hear about more crime due to instant media coverage, but the truth is crime rates in the US have been dropping like a rock for decades now.

I'm still proud to call American my home. I may disagree with some things I see on the news, which of course is intentionally phrased in such a way to create controversy to sell more papers and get more views, but this is home, and there is nowhere I'd rather be.

Take a minute to thank those who have made these freedoms possible this 4th of July weekend, and share this if you're still proud to be an American as well. Have a wonderful 4th!