You must watch this video before reading the post.
This video has said what everyone has never wanted to say. Everyone has maybe thought it, but no one has had the guts to actually speak up and put into words what the rest of us are thinking and wouldn't dare to actually admit.
I suppose I should first state that I'm proud to be an American. Just as the Brits should be proud they're Brits, Aussies should be proud of Australia, Germans should be nationalistic of their beer and brat days and harsh sounding language, and Chinese should be proud of their population, long history and impossibly hard language. I am so thankful to be in part of the country in which I was raised.
But to be honest, one reason I moved away from America is because it was mundane and I wanted a challenge. I was always provided for my every whim. I could grab cherry limeade whenever I felt the craving, if I was sick I could get into my own car and drive myself to a doctor's office, if something quit working in my house it was so easy to get on the phone and get the problem solved without anyone ever physically being in the house. If I was lost somewhere I could pull over to a gas station and ask someone for directions.
You all have read the many adventures of me struggling my way around China but this is mainly due to language barrier. As soon as a Chinese friend gets on the phone, the problem is almost instantly or on the way to being solved, just as it would be in America.
Each country has humans that are, in fact, human. They have the same thoughts, feelings, fears, hopes, and dreams just like any human with soul does. Every human feels guilt, supremacy, defeat, victory... Just because this big spot of land on the North American continent is stamped with the name AMERICA on every map does NOT give it any more power than another country. Heck, Russia takes up more space on a globe but do you ever hear of people saying, "Ah Russia! I've always wanted to live there!" I have seen the Angkor Wat, The Great Wall of China, the Dead Sea, and countless cathedrals throughout Europe but do you ever really, honestly hear advertisements for these places in America? Then you go somewhere overseas and constantly nationals will ask you, the american, "Have you been to Los Angeles? Have you seen the Grand Canyon? Have you met Obama? Have you been to Washington D.C.? What is New York like? How much money do you make? " Those statements reveal what America looks like to the rest of the world. A huge, populous, diverse country who's president gives great speeches, we have all sorts of cool natural landscapes (ie Yosemite as mentioned above), and basically people that gallivant all over the country doing whatever the ___ we want and not giving 2 ___ about anyone but ourselves.
Ok I have to pause.....Breathe....continue...
I am not trying to hate on America but more so hate on ignorant people, myself included. Our country was founded on principles that we have forgotten. Morals that people apparently no longer have or believe in. Seriously, our founding fathers knew what was up. I don't know if you guys have read the Declaration of Independence lately but that thing was some pretty real stuff. Read it. We actually thought about what we said before saying it and considered others and future people's needs before ours. We were forward thinkers instead of present thinkers. That, in my opinion, is one of the problems we need to recognize. We are so wrapped up in the here and now, we don't take two seconds to consider how that may influence the future. Now some will over analyze the future but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about educating yourself to educate others. Be informed.
I know I'll try to be.
