It's Okay To Be A Proud American

There are people who are going to take exception to the title of this article, find it controversial, or even offensive - as mind-boggling as that sounds. But the truth needs to be spoken: It is okay to be proud of your country while simultaneously acknowledging what it’s done in the past.

Today, we will celebrate 245 years since The Continental Congress, representing the 13 American colonies, declared their independence from the rule of the British Empire citing that all men are created equal to pursue their ideal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

But let’s start with the Bull Moose in the room… America was born flawed - There is no escaping that. We were born with the viewpoint that some human beings were lesser than other human beings because of the color of their skin or what society at the time deemed “savage” vs “civilized”.

It is important to note that no country, no civilization, and no group of people on the timeline of our species is innocent.

EVERY single civilization that has ever existed on this planet has either killed, raped, sacrificed, enslaved, and sometimes done all of the above atrocities to other human beings. Our species’ past is one of violence. Things have been done in every culture’s history that can be looked at with shame. Most people today are decent people - But we all fight something evolutionary, so innate to who we are as a species that keeps us consciously or subconsciously discriminating against others.?

That something we have to learn to overcome, in regards to racial and ethnic differences, is fear. Fear of the unknown and fear of that which we do not understand. The only way to overcome that fear is through difficult conversations in understanding where others come from and who they are. Until we do, we are bound to tear each other apart from fear.

It is okay to acknowledge that and at the same time be proud of our common bond as Americans. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

-Martin Luther King Jr.

Why We Should Be Proud To Be Americans

The people who brought about the birth of this country by way of The American Revolution changed the world for the better. Yes, they were flawed human beings, like the rest of us, but the change they brought about to the world echoes to this day. Their actions kicked off an “Age of Revolution”, in which the American Revolution served as a catalyst and inspiration to millions around the world to revolt against the absolute monarchies that ruled over them. These people brought back the idea of representative government with written constitutions, something that had not been seen for arguably 1800 years.

To this day, to most around the world, the idea of America is that it doesn’t matter where you come from, what language you speak, or what color your skin is, you can come here and make something of yourself if you want it bad enough.

Yes, sometimes things are much more difficult for some than it is for others - Life can hand people some bad cards. But guess what? That’s the hand life dealt you and you can either fold or you can make the most of it! We can still continue fighting toward our creed of “All men are created equal” and acknowledging how far we’ve come while still admitting there is still work to be done. Our capacity for change that our country has shown and continues to show should be an inspiration to everybody.

I’ve found that some of the most staunchly patriotic people are actually immigrants or the children of immigrants. I believe, and they’d probably say the same thing, that it’s because either their parents or themselves have lived on the other side. Whether they escaped poverty, violence, or Communism - Whether they came from Central or South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, Asia - They came here because it afforded a better opportunity to themselves and their family than did their country of origin. America is filled with these sorts of people - Just watch any episode of one of my favorite shows, Shark Tank, and see how many of the hosts and entrepreneur contestants share similar stories!

The American Dream

I’m not a first-generation immigrant or even a second. Maybe not even a third, depending on how you look at it. My family history stems back to before Arizona was officially a state and you could freely walk back and forth from Mexico to the US. I grew up in a single-parent household, and a low-income area, speaking only Spanish for the first 5 years of my life.

But I consider myself fortunate to have grown up in a family that valued hard work and that wouldn’t accept excuses for anything less. I got to see my mom put herself through school (for a bachelors and Master’s degree) while raising my sister and I. I got to go to a University and get a degree (even though I now believe college is mostly useless for most people), and now have a pretty good job in tech that gives me the freedom to do the things that I enjoy. I wouldn’t have had these same opportunities if I was born on the other side of the border.

Each generation of my family has gotten progressively better from a standard of living point of view because of the hard work of the last.? That is the American dream. That is my American dream. It doesn’t matter what you were born into, but if you work hard enough, you can set yourself and your family up for success now and in the future.

Moving Forward

We as individuals are a microcosm of who our country is. Every single person has thought things, said things and done things in their past that they aren’t proud of. But our past, as individuals and as a collective, doesn’t define where we are going or what we can be.?

The past isn’t there to block out, censor, be ashamed of, or erase. It is there to provide lessons on where we’ve been so that we might find ourselves going somewhere better. It can’t be changed. So we might as well learn from it.

If we remember the ideals of this country while acknowledging the past, our future is bright. If we look to only highlight our sins and avoid the good, our future is shrouded in darkness. It’s up to us what perspective we want to take on life.?

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.