Who We Are

Like so many Americans out there in an election year I normally would have shut out all of the hoopla, rhetoric, and posturing by our political establishment, until the very last moment. But this year I have actually tuned into parts of the Republican and Democratic conventions. As of this writing you will know that the nominees for both parties have been chosen, Donald Trump for the Republicans and Hillary Clinton for the Democrats.

More so than any other election that I can remember this one seems to be a pivotal point in our history. It is the first time in history that a woman has been nominated for president of the United States by a major political party. At the same time it is an election that has exposed deep divisions within our society, not just of race and economics, but of how we view our country and its potential, and how we treat each other. I have listened with sadness.

But on the first night of the Democratic convention, among the very good speakers there was one, Cory Booker, who made me smile. Obviously a partisan speech, but it embodied the hopeful spirit that I have always felt lay at the heart of who we, as Americans, are.

That is the America I want to live in. That is the America that can face its problems and prevail.  

Voices

I have been busy with real life tasks so haven't had the opportunity to consider a new post, until now. But, oh my, does there seem to be a plethora of topics to discuss. We have the multiple police shootings in the United States, which led to protests, and more violence. We have the aftermath of the Brexit vote starting to ripple through economic activity and the political spectrum. We have had a truck attack in France, resulting in mass casualties. We have had a coup attempt in Turkey. I simply could not pick. But as I considered my topic I realized that some of those events do actually have something in common. Except, perhaps, for the terror attack in France all of the other events seem to be symptoms of divisions within various countries. I qualify the terror attack with that “perhaps” because it too seems in a way to be a symptom of divisions between peoples. The division in that case being between moderates and extremists.

People are not all alike, they have different beliefs, different dreams, different problems. So how do we deal with the differences? I think if a country has a wise government it listens to the people. While we can't please all of the people all of the time it is expected that all of the people should be given the respect and due process that is necessary for a country to continue to function successfully. So I have listened to a couple videos that I wanted to share with you.

The first is a Sky News Special on the aftermath of the Brexit vote. (Yes, you know who, I wrote “the” before Brexit. Lol!). I thought it a decently balanced report with voices from both sides of the issue weighing in. It runs about 26 minutes.

The next is a Town Hall discussion that President Obama engaged in recently regarding race relations here in the States. It too was a nicely balanced event allowing all voices to be heard. It's about an hour long, but there are some very interesting viewpoints expressed that are worth hearing.

We will always struggle with differences. It is how we respond to those differences, and resolve the problems that arise, that will differentiate a peaceful, prosperous country from one that slides into chaos and anarchy, or a dictatorship.

July 4, 2016

Another July 4^th is just around the corner and we are still here, despite those out there who wish us ill. This year I decided to dedicate a post to the people who have worked so hard to make this country, its laws, its economy, its coat of many colors social fabric. Despite people, who in the past, or currently, have decided the best thing would be to close the door on certain groups of people, we have persevered in maintaining a society that allows newcomers a place. It may be a slow, grinding process, but it does eventually create new Americans, and they are the people who contribute to a vibrant, flexible, country.

What amazes me is that while we have focused on certain immigrant groups, such as those from Syria, people are still coming from around the world. I took a peak at various citizenship ceremonies. I liked this one because it was a nice snapshot of where people came from. I don't know the lady who was the reason for the video being made, but I hope she won't mind my letting my readers watch.

I don't know why any of those people in that citizenship ceremony decided to come to this country, but they have all taken an oath to follow the laws of this country, support and defend her. Because the United States is now their country. It is their home. It is now their responsibility. And it is the responsibility of those here who came before to make room for them, to give them, within the protection of our laws, the freedom to grow to be valuable citizens.

While I do not know the hardships our new Americans have experienced on their journey here I did look at the last step they needed to take to become American, the citizenship test, or at least part of it. Here is a link to a few of the questions. You may want to see how you do. I was relieved to realize that I would pass it. Lol! I was also rather amused that in the two tests I looked at the question of when your taxes are due was included in both.  

U.S. citizenship test

So to all of our new Americans out there I just want to say congratulations and I hope you find the happiness in this country that you deserve.