"America, God mend thine every flaw..."

"America, God mend thine every flaw." Ok that was the comment on Facebook this morning that started all of this so, you will just have to bear with me, especially since there isn’t a “dislike” option on Facebook.

Out of all the things that one could say on this day, out of the countless expressions of gratitude that should be articulated for those who have given up everything so that we could have the freedom to say what ever pops into our minds, this is not exactly the expression that comes to mind. Now believe me, I understand exactly where this world view comes from, I have spent four years of my life being bombarded by this mind-set with no ability to speak out against it.

I have very much grown to understand the position of those who really do think that the United States is the bad guy in the world and that everything that is wrong in the world can be placed directly at our door step. The problem is that I believe this world view is TOTALLY UNFAIR, INACCURATE, AND DEMONSTRATES A PROFOUND LACK OF BASIC HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING AND CONTEXT.

You know something; I get really tired of hearing from those who seem to have nothing positive to say about our nation. First of all, let me agree that as a nation, we have done some pretty horrific things: slavery, racism, the treatment of Native Americans, the treatment of Japanese citizens during WWII, lack of ecology and care of the planet and the list goes on. There are many things that, as a nation, we can look back upon and know that we could have and should have done better or differently. I am also aware that we have a plethora of issues that we face today, and that 100 years from now, historians and people living in 2109 will be wondering what the heck were we thinking back in 2009.

But with that being said, the answer that none of these people (some of them I consider friends) who seem to think that America basically stinks, those who think that Rev. Jeremiah Wright was fundamentally correct in his assessment of The United States and in his sermons denouncing America, and trust me, I know many of these people personally, none of these people can tell me a place on earth that does it significantly better.

I have traveled in other countries although admittedly not as extensively as some, but I didn’t hear anyone in my group that went to El Salvador wish that they could stay there permanently amidst the violence, corruption and razor wire. (Admittedly, some, like myself, would like to return in the capacity of mission work someday but that is different) I didn’t hear anyone who just returned from South Korea say that they would rather stay there. (Many of the Korean students I have known, although not all of them, desired to stay in the United States)

I didn’t hear anyone return from Israel, Afghanistan, or Iraq say that they would rather live in those nations. I don’t hear any of my friends and colleagues begging for the opportunity to move down to Havana and live under the Castro regime, although I have heard from Michael Moore how much better their health care system is in Cuba (Oh Please! let me run to Cuba next time I need serious medical attention) You don’t hear that very often despite what a world class expert like Michael Moore thinks.

In addition, I haven’t noticed a flock of people leaving the United States moving to other parts of the world. I don’t see a mass exodus from the United States to Europe or Central America, or Africa, or Canada, or Australia, or China, or Russia, or Cuba.

NO, instead we are a nation that essentially throws open our doors for others to come.

I for one am grateful to live in the United States. I have family members that have served in every major war and conflict in this past century. Freedom comes at a very high price and on this day of celebration, I choose to express my gratitude for this great nation and those who have served in our military and pray that God continue to bless this nation. Today, this Day of Independence, my thought is not "America, God mend thine every flaw." But instead “America, God shed thy grace on thee.” Perhaps the criticisms could wait until July 5th?

Blessings