Are you proud of America?
As a citizen, this is a question you should be happy to answer. After all, you've been told that this is the greatest nation on the face of the earth, the land of unequalled opportunity, the land of the free and the home of the brave, so surely you should be proud of being a citizen.
You've heard this country has the finest health care in the world, an unparalleled educational system and is the only nation that offers equal opportunity to all, regardless of race, creed or sex. Our children pledge loyalty every morning to a land with liberty and justice for all, no matter whether rich or poor, a land where no one is above the law and a land where legislators operate on the principle of justice rather than political or personal gain. Why, we even call our leader "Mr. President." A land that boasts, above all, of its love of personal liberty..
So, citizens, go one step further and tell everyone WHY you're proud of America. Proclaim your patriotism and pad it with details. Tell everybody exactly what makes the United States the envy of the world and why people from every nation yearn to live in a land like ours. Tell them about the values that led the U.S.A. to victory in WW II and how we've stuck to them through thick or thin, never allowing external threats to endanger the fundamental foundation of democracy that everyone is innocent until proven guilty by a jury of equals. Tell them in a loud voice that the right to privacy is precious and, in the words of our hero Patrick Henry, that death is preferable to a loss of liberty.
Continue to speak about how we have never dreamed of sacrificing anyone's rights to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness for the sake of additional safety. How it's better that ten guilty people go free than one innocent person be wrongly imprisoned. Echo Voltaire's thought that although he may disagree with what you say, he'll defend to the death your right to say it.
Look at our Congress and how they represent our democracy. Look at our Supreme Court. Look at our President. These three branches of government, upon which our nation is built, stands for the best we can be and is a beacon for the kind of country we can give to our children.
And don't forget the Fourth Estate, our free and unbiased press. Tell the world that what we read in our newspapers and magazines and see on our media is fair and balanced, unaffected by commercial interests and dedicated solely to a better country.
Look back to the wars we've fought and the brave men and women who've died in them. Ask yourself what noble purposes did they advance and how much they made the lives of common people better.
And look at your fellow citizens, including the mega-corporations the Supreme Court said were people, too. Remember that it also said money is speech and how we're dedicated to freedom of speech.
Count your blessings, citizens, and tell the world about them, remembering the biggest blessing of all is that we're still able to change them.