Blogocentric Formulations

What Do You Love About America Day

I thought this would be an interesting blog topic because, if I'm being totally honest, there's a lot of stuff that I don't love about America right now. Despite being an optimistic for the most part, there's a lot of stuff happening in this country that I find really discouraging.

I don't love the fact that our courts seem hellbent on the broadest possible interpretation of the second amendment to allow unfettered access to guns (even while the number of annual mass shootings continue to increase), while simultaneously offering the most limited interpretation of personal and voting rights to deprive people of access to legal recourse against those in power who make the decisions.

I don't love the fact that income inequality is so pervasive that the middle class is slowly disappearing and it's becoming increasingly harder for average Americans to do basic things like save money, or buy an affordable home.

I don't love that fact that corporations have more protections and mechanisms for bailing themselves out of trouble than people do, and that private equity firms are buying up resources and, in some cases, entire industries left and right and, by and large, making them worse consumer experiences in the name maximizing return on investment.

I don't love the fact that American exceptionalism is so rampant that criticism of the country is often conflated with being unpatriotic, or even anti-American. People wave American flags around (or wear them on their lapels in the case of elected officials) as a symbol of the things this country stands for, without actually working to uphold those ideals. Or the fact that we apparently have entire "days" like this, dedicated to encouraging people to affirm and celebrate the greatness of America (often while avoiding the tough conversations about bad things that have been done in America's name over the years).

With all that said, I can't really imagine living anywhere else. There are a lot of things that I do love about this country, like the fact that you can pursue pretty much any life you want. That's not a guarantee you'll succeed of course, or that it'll be easy... but there are very few hard restrictions on the kind of life you choose to pursue. Somewhat related, but I also love the fact that you can pretty much start over anytime. You can be twenty years down the road of a particular career and there's nothing stopping you from moving across the country to start a completely new one. While I think there are a lot of qualifiers and a lot more hurdles than there used to be for a lot of different types of people, I do still believe in the American Dream, and I believe in the independence that this country grants its citizens to (by and large) live the kinds of lives they want to live.

I also love the fact that this country is so diverse. From its geography to its people, to its industries, there are few places that have more variety to choose from. You can visit mountains, oceans, deserts, plains, forests, swamps, and any number of both natural and man-made sights without ever leaving the country. You can find communities of people from dozens, even hundreds of other countries all around the world. For me personally, I love living next to a large city where there isn't just a variety of ethnic foods to try, but there are a variety of ethnic communities to try that each of dozens of restaurants, retailers, houses of worship, and other features that truly allow you to immerse yourself in another culture without having to go anywhere farther than a different neighborhood. And America is a leading contributor to so many different industries, from finance to technology to entertainment to medicine to real estate to manufacturing. No matter what your profession, you can probably find an employer in America that's near the top of the field.

America is a place that I really do love. It most definitely has its problems, and I have a real problem with people who pretend like it doesn't, or who ignore fair criticisms and aren't interested in making improvements... but as a whole, I'm proud of the things this country has accomplished and the things it could still accomplish. That's why I still vote. It's why I still care passionately about who my elected representatives are, and what they stand for. It's why I get frustrated or even angry when I feel like we're taking backward steps politically, culturally, financially, or in any of a variety of other ways. Just like the "dream" that America lends its name to, success and upward mobility are possible if we can just figure out how to stop doing the stuff that's holding us back (and in some cases, hurting us).