Thoughts on being American

Well, really it got me thinking about why a grounding in American History is important for all of us, but particularly for those who have the gall to run for office and call themselves public servants. (We all know that's a lie, right?)

I'd like to see just one person run for high office and say credibly that he (or she, I guess) knows what it means to be an American.

Americans fight little, silly wars like this last one; Americans also fight big, bloody wars like the Second World War. We do this not necessarily because we believe it is our duty or even our place to save those that need saving; but we do believe that we can. We can, so we will. That's part of it.

In order to serve The People--as in "We the People, in order to form a more perfect Union..."--effectively, I think one ought to have a passing familiarity with the U.S. Constitution. Because it's still the foundation of all our laws. I know that We the People don't really govern any more unless we happen to sit on the board of directors of one of the country's major corporations, and I know that this is our own damned fault.

Why? Because so many of us won't bother to vote. That's troubling, to say the least.

Actually, if I ran for office (and it's probably a good thing I live in a place where there's no office to run for) I would get up there and my stump speech would start off about knowing what it means to be an American. I seriously doubt that any advisory type would agree that that would make a good stump speech, but it's not like I listen to anybody, anyway.

Sometimes I wonder if there's the same kind of feeling that comes from being a native of another place. It seems that there ought to be. I am not talking about nationalism, patriotism here, I am talking about an almost rote knowledge of your local history: of the way things are and have always been.

I don't know that a country can ever grow comfortably and safely without this knowledge.

I don't think many of our current elected officials have it. I don't sense it coming from the current president, but I also don't sense it from any of those who would unseat him.

Which is why I guess I can understand not voting, even though I always do myself.

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