Who is America to you? It is important, if not crucial, to evaluate the answer to this question. However, much of the rhetoric in mainstream media and even school books paints her in a negative light. While she’s not perfect, her heartbeat is being veiled by highlighting the wrongdoings of people who have lived and now live within her borders, making it difficult to ascertain a truly informed opinion.
One of my favorite quotes is “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” (Though this quote is difficult to trace exactly, it is most likely a Chinese proverb and was made famous in America when diplomat and politician Aldai Stevenson mentioned it at the passing of Eleanor Roosevelt through the words, “She would rather light candles than curse the darkness and her glow had warmed the world.”) So in this vein, I want to pull on your heartstrings by showing a couple video clips that demand an emotional response.
In the above clip from the 2000 historical fiction movie The Patriot, a young colonial American girl, Anne Howard played by actress Lisa Brenner, is incensed by the apathy of the men in her town when they resist the call to join the militia. Her brave speech insists that action accompany words. This, to me, is a huge part of who America is. She is a system of beliefs that not only are talked about, but also fought for by her subscribers. This concept is understood by Bono, frontman of rock band U2, philanthropist, and activist, as he explains in the clip below from a speech delivered to students at Georgetown University.
America is more than just a great country; she’s an idea. She is unique in that though various evils sometimes arise, at her very core she encourages equality, innovation, and freedom as established by our founding fathers in The Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
And now I will conclude with a fervent prayer- God bless America and all that she truly represents.
No Comments