So I received the following email the other day :

 

Funny how a former eastern block country can see the USA and what makes us all tick, and western Europe has real difficulties with it.---- We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA.

Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title C"ntareaAmericii (meaning "Ode To America") on September 24, 2002 in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei ("The Daily Event" or "News of the Day").
An Ode to America~
Why are Americans so united?  They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing, mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.  Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers.  Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts.  Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about.  The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.  After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag.  They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing. On every occasion, they started singing their traditional song: "GodBless America!" I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people. How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some  turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes.  And with every phone call, millions! and millions!  of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy.
What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way?  Their land?   Their galloping history?  Their economic Power?  Money? I tried for  hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace. I thought things over, but I reached only one
conclusion............Only freedom can work such miracles.
This deserves to be passed around the Internet forever.


First it begs the question , Are there no heroes in Romania ?? Is every one he knows wallowing in self interest ? Some of what the author describes is some basic human nature , which can be observed every day and in any country on this planet.

Second , this is Not a United Country , this country is split down the middle on almost Every Major Point of View. This country is very polar when it comes to:  pro-choice/pro-life  , war in Iraq , creationism v/s evolution , gays, woman priests, executing children as adults , tax reform , the Deficit , funding for aids , religion in politics , prayer in school , funding for social programs , meddling in other countries politics , Social Security , global warming , trickle down economics , no child left behind , affirmative action , Medicare funding , tax reform , patriot act v/s basic liberties , minimum wage , birth control , censorship , prayer in school and I am sure you could come up with plenty more.

Democracy works best when there is a small minority , but when a country is split down the middle (2% is Not a Mandate) you have half the country telling the other half what to do. This is freedom for just Some of the country. and the feeling of oppression by the other half. This is made even more noticeable by the heavy polarity of views.

Our former President had declared that you are either With Him or Against Him , this is not the statement of a free society. He  has said he will bridge the gap but only with those who are already in agreement with him. We are told the neo-conservative Christianity will be interwoven into all aspects of our society , this is freedom of religion ??? The right has declared war an a nation for no reason , bombing woman and children in the night , but if someone complains they declare them Pro Terrorist , is this freedom of speech. Science books must have a sticker declaring them as just myths , and that  Christian myths must also be taught , but were is the pro Darwin teachings in Sunday school ? This is hypocritical and is defiantly not freedom of thought.

Its cool Mr. Nistorescu feels this way about the country, but i can't help but feel that his view from a distance is lacking in clarity. I also hope that he can enjoy his view of us and never learns , that as with all groups of people, Americans live in a heavily flawed social system.

On the other hand , I disagree with believing and circulating the myth we are such a wonderful country. I believe it keeps us in a state of denial and therefore fail to recognize and fix the problems in this society (poverty, sickness, illiteracy , suppression of liberties, etc). It also makes us arrogant and thus we feel we can tell the rest of the world what to do because were so great and there so evil. What happened to "let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

I feel we must be careful of propaganda and the belief we are as good as we say we are. If we propose to be the leaders of the world , we Can't afford Self Delusion !
In the words of Emily Dickenson:
            Faith is a fine invention,
            for gentlemen who see.
            But microscopes are prudent,
            in an emergency.

 

                                Lonnie Jackson