The things we cherish often tell us a great deal about who we are.
There are many historical statements of the nature, “Tell me...and I’ll tell you.” Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are. Lavrentiy Beria supposedly said tell me the man, and I’ll tell you his crime. Churchill said that a man is as big as the things that make him angry. And so forth. One might add to the list that one can learn a great deal about a person by what he celebrates.
The U.S. is quickly approaching its 250th birthday. Most normal Americans find this cause for celebration. The U.S. is the freest and richest country in the world, and the two go hand in hand. Without the freedoms and recognition of God-given rights, America would just be another bland Western country like those in Europe. Without the emphasis on property rights and the idea that the money is yours and the government taxes it versus Obama’s “you didn’t build that” comment, which means that the government owns everything and gives you a bit of the goodies, the U.S. would not have trillion-dollar corporations. Rags to riches, legal immigrant to millionaire, are common stories in the U.S. Does everybody make it? Nope. For every Apple, there are a hundred companies that tried but did not make it. Facebook made it; MyCrowd not so much.
It was telling last week when the Obamas formally opened their penitentiary on Chicago’s South Side. Valerie Jarrett reappeared to address the convocation. She knee-jerkedly started with a “land acknowledgment” for about half of the tribes that once lived in Illinois. This is the great weakness of the Left. If you really believe that you swiped the land from the true Indian owners, then give it back. Imagine the headlines if Obama had handed a deed of ownership to a local tribe chief. But the Left says a lot of words but never means any of it. It was once your land, but it’s ours now. We’ll just “acknowledge” and hang on to the valuable property. They wax philosophic on illegal aliens but would never let them near their homes. They babble about being the Party of Science but ignore all scientific facts related to COVID, its origin, trans mania, and climate hocus-pocus. The Left talks a good game, but they don’t believe a word of what they say. Our caring socialist senators Sanders and Warren fly private so as to feel one with the crowds they bamboozle.
So while Americans celebrate the U.S., what do Palestinians, Hezbollah terrorists, and Iranian mullahs celebrate? The death of Jews, Christians, and the West. Have you ever heard anything positive come from a Hamas or Palestinian Authority official? It’s always complaints and demands. “The Israelis stole our land! They owe us big time!” They have nothing positive about them. Their goals are to kill Jews and destroy Israel. When Hamas and its buddies murdered over a thousand Jews in southern Israel, in many quarters, there was much rejoicing. While normal people around the world were aghast at the torture, rape, and murder, Palestinians and their lefty flunkies, Muslims and their Woke Right toadies rejoiced. Some came out to say how thrilled they were. Others kept a lower profile but at times gave a glimpse into their joy in seeing so many Jews not just dead but being murdered in such a horrendous fashion. We celebrate life, and Israel is known to add features to U.S. fighters that further help protect and save pilots. They celebrate death and name streets and squares after people who blew up innocents going about their daily activities.
What we celebrate is a reflection of who we are as individuals and as a nation. When word percolated through that the second F-15 pilot had been found and safely removed with all U.S. forces from Iran, we rejoiced. Out of a country of 330 million, isn’t a single pilot just a rounding error? No. He is a cherished member of the U.S. military, and an entire country became his second cousin while waiting to hear that he was alive and out of danger. When I was a kid, and they liked to terrify us about the Red Army and the Chinese People’s Army, they would tell us that the latter would clear a minefield by running soldiers through it. While I can’t say if that was official CCP doctrine, it seems that life in the communist world was never valued as it was in the West. The U.S. built a “nuclear airplane” but never turned on the reactor. Due to the heavy shielding, the project was not practical. The Russians also built such a plane and did turn on the reactor. They didn’t have much shielding, and their pilots died some years after flying the beast for its first and only flight.
There was a time when my wife worked in a governmental ministry. Friday in Israel is generally not a workday. A friend called to say that there was a sick boy who needed to get to Switzerland for medical treatment but did not have a passport. My wife called her boss, who immediately went to the office, where she met the family and produced an Israeli passport on the spot. Normally, one waits a few weeks for such a document to arrive. Not in this case. The boss did not know the family, and she didn’t owe my wife any particular favors. She understood that she could take an action that could save a life, and that possibility was more important than her day off at home. Americans would do the same in a heartbeat. We see it all of the time when Americans give of themselves selflessly for others. The Cajun Navy? That is about as American as it gets.
Watching some of the reactions of Europeans visiting the U.S. for the World Cup has been entertaining. On the one hand, they seem to be having a great time, enjoying American hospitality and standing in awe of Costco and the size of meat portions they receive at restaurants. On the other hand, one gets the impression that they have been sold an image of the U.S. that was so negative that their shock results from waking up from what they had been told for so many years. Trump is Hitler! His supporters are fascists! America is an evil country that boots poor, unfortunate Mexicans for no reason. Then they meet real Americans and are dumbfounded at how nice they are. The World Cup has been a great opportunity for America to showcase its beauty, wonderful citizens, and great prices to the world. I saw an army of Japanese tourists at Walmart. Nobody had to worry about somebody walking out of the store with unpaid goods.
So let us actively celebrate the United States of America. I don’t pretend to be a world traveler, but visiting a country is not the same as living in one. I am partial to the U.S., and I still believe that one would be hard-pressed to find a better country. Elon Musk’s story may be unique, but in some ways it is not. He came to the U.S. with little money to his name. He leveraged his exquisite capabilities and the opportunities available to him in his new country not only to become the richest person in the world (by about $700 billion over the next guy) but also to bestow upon us amazing cars, reliable rockets, useful tunnels, and revolutionary brain implants. America is not perfect, but I have never heard that something or someone has to be perfect to be appreciated or celebrated. Here is to another 250 years of American exceptionalism and success!