A Proud American

-by 'tamerlane'

I frequently write about what's wrong with America-and there's plenty. But in honor of the Fourth of July, and in no particular order, some things about our Nation that make me proud to be an American.


1. The Bill of Rights
In an Age when oppression and tyranny were the status quo, the first ten amendments to the Constitution established as inalienable rights, freedoms and liberties which had previously existed only as fortuitous privileges or not at all. The impact of this visionary concept cannot be over estimated.

Written almost as an afterthought, the Bill of Rights laid the groundwork for the American way of life we too often take for granted, and too often neglect to protect. Beyond the actual rights enshrined in the document, the Bill of Rights established the principle that Americans could, and must, ever amend our laws to adhere to the principle of Liberty.


2. The Rest of the Constitution
Yes it's imperfect, yes it's pathetically outdated, a patchwork of addenda crying out for a total rewrite. But, like my old, banging-up Chevy truck, the Constitution is still running and still gets the job done.

The beauty of the document is its exceptional flexibility, a gift from the stellar minds of its authors. Strict interpretation would have made the Constitution obsolete ages ago. It's the principles that inspired the Constitution, not the specific details, that have allowed us to operate under the same form of government, and to enjoy essentially the same type of society, for 222 years. Compare that streak with France. Their revolution occurred just after ours, and they're currently on their 5th Republic, with a few dictatorships and monarchies interspersed. We're still on Republic #1.


3. Rock 'n; Roll
This distinctly American art form truly "will never die". Evolving from a blend of folk, blues, and other native styles, Rock 'n' Roll is no simple diversion. The genre's birth in the mid-fifties saw it question authority and rebel against stultifying conformity. Ever since, rock music has helped inspire social progress-civil rights, peace, sexual freedom. Rock continues to embody and celebrate truly American virtues of independence, innovation and youthful optimism.


4. NASA
A recent string of embarrassing failures has tarnished the space agency's image. But Americans shouldn't forget how we boldly embarked on a quest for knowledge that has rivaled the grandeur of the pyramids and the audacity Columbus.

In the best tradition of Western civilization, the USA expended a ton of money and effort to simply learn about things, with no direct military or economic gain. To put men on the moon, NASA stretched 1960's technology to the limit, just because we dared ourselves to try it. No one doubted we Americans would succeed.

NASA built two tiny probes, the Voyagers, to explore a couple of planets, then ingeniously figured out a way extend their operational life and explore the rest of the solar system, and then even farther. The Hubble telescope, despite early teething pains, lets us gaze at the edge of time and has provided invaluable understanding of the origin of the universe.

Many believe mankind is destined to one day populate the stars. If we survive to fulfill that calling, Americans will be remembered as the ones who took the first steps on that journey.


5. The Melting Pot and Meritocracy
The blending of people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds in America is truly unique, and we've pulled it off surprisingly well. Prejudice has always existed, but has never prevailed in the end. We succeeded, not by the bumper sticker platitude to 'celebrate diversity', but by extending the American principle of meritocracy to anyone who showed up.

No matter how funny you looked, how bad your accent, or how weird your religious practices, if you worked hard and embraced American culture, in a generation or two you'd be grudgingly accepted as part of the mainstream, with your cultural qualities enriching the American amalgam.

Too much remains unfair in America. The idle rich get richer simply for being rich. Tall men get promoted because they are tall and a man. Cops beat up young blacks, while letting pretty young blondes off with a warning. But we hold and affirm in principle that every one is equal, that everyone gets a fair chance, and everyone gets rewarded based on how they perform. We're not perfect, but at least our hearts are in the right place.


6. Separation of Church and State
A purely secular government was unheard of in 1787 and is still fairly uncommon today. The Founding Fathers looked back at two centuries of devastating religious wars in Europe, and vowed to spare their new nation that fate. Their foresight granted us levels of domestic tranquility and personal freedoms that most of mankind has never attained.

Separation of Church and State has stabilized our government, protected us from religious tyranny, while simultaneously allowing religious practice to thrive and diversify. We disrupt this cornerstone of American Liberty at our peril.


7. Natural Beauty
We just lucked into it, but our country possess some of the most dramatic, serene, and varied landscapes on Earth. Our pride comes from the sentiment, present since colonial days, that we have a special obligation to act as the stewards of our natural treasure. That spirit first took shape in the creation of national parks by Teddy Roosevelt. Today, our parks and preserves are the envy of the World-foreigners visit in droves and marvel at their expanse and beauty.

Our natural legacy is threatened more today than ever. Budget cuts, calls for privatization, a gluttonous lifestyle that demands more raw materials and new tract houses, could rapidly obliterate what we've carefully nurtured for so long. To abandon the traditional American principle of natural preservation would bring us immeasurable shame.


8. Hollywood
Yes, actually, hurray for Hollywood. The American film industry gets slammed for the vapidity of its product, its craven business practices, and often for its low morals. That criticism is in large part merited. Yet, while the rule in Hollywood seems to be 'the bigger the budget, the smaller the idea', great works of art do get made with regularity. Mindless movies predominate, but mindless audiences crave them. Sit down for just five minutes and make a list of great films. It will be a long list, and the films very great indeed. So why fret over the chaff of lousy movies soon forgotten? A thousand Taco Bells cannot diminish a Chez Panisse.

Cinema is a beneficial and vital aspect of modern civilization. At their best, movies are our sagas, the epic poems once delivered orally, now on a silver screen. Born in New Jersey, raised in California, "Hollywood" has fueled the dreams and inspired the aspirations of the entire world.


9. Baseball
Americans have invented three major sports-basketball, football, and baseball-now hugely popular across the globe. Of the three, baseball is, in my opinion, the sport that most encapsulates the American spirit.

Baseball hinges on individual performances, yet the nine players must work harmoniously to succeed. The prowess of one star player means nothing without the contributions of the other eight. Even the lowliest member of the team can sometimes become the hero.

In Baseball, anything is possible. The playing field extends in theory into infinity, and it's the only sport where outcome is determined not by the position of the ball, but by what the players do. Without a game clock, nothing is ever a foregone conclusion. Teams can and often do come back from far behind to prevail. During a season, a team with average players who play smart and 'as a team' can outdo a roster of high-paid, selfish stars.

True, the professional version of the game played today is diminished by the influence of capitalist greed and frenzied hype. But the game we played as kids taught us to rely on each other, to resolve disputes amicably, to create novel solutions-ground rules-for special situations, to laud the exceptional player and to encourage the mundane one.

In its purest form, the 'national pastime' that Americans perfected out of a lesser game inherited from England is masterpiece of form and symmetry. The dimensions of the playing field, the pace of the action, the yin & yang of offense & defense, the interplay of throwing, running and hitting, not to mention its sylvan charm, make baseball not just sport, but art.


10. Courage to Critique Ourselves
Americans practice self-criticism as a habit, albeit sometimes reluctantly. It stems from our freedom of speech. To pick on France again for comparison: the French still treat Napoleon as a hero, instead of the tyrannical, murderous, warmonger he was. They pretend that everyone was in the resistance during WWII, and neglect to explain how all that nice Italian art ended up in the Louvre.

Americans are tougher than that. We knew slavery was bad, and we fixed it. We acknowledge what we did to the Indians was inexcusable, and we don't try to hide it. After a few pendulum swings, we can now admit that our actions in Vietnam were in error, but we still commend the bravery, patriotism and sacrifice of the generation that fought there.

As Americans, we can lambaste our elected officials, and demand greatness of them. We can recognize flaws in our national character, and propose ways to remedy them, without losing faith in our inherent strengths. We can celebrate our achievements, without needing to sweep our failures under the rug. Indeed, our greatest moments have come after periods of frustration or ignominy. If we have a tendency to get lackadaisical at times, we still tackle our shortcomings with enthusiasm, optimism, and determination. We have a habit of dreaming the inconceivable, and a knack for achieving the unthinkable. We can be proud of all this.


(c) 2009 by 'tamerlane'. All rights reserved.