American people are awesome

And so is most of the New World, and our combined cultures. The emigration trends support this as others vote with their feet to come here.

Perhaps it is part our Judeo-Christian background, respect and support for the rule of law, or just plain economic opportunity. Maybe it is about our Constitution. One can also believe opportunity for their kids plays a big factor. Just having their kids being able to break out of the Old World patterns of being stuck where you are born in life is profound.

To give due to the blame America crowd, they have a point, also. As much as I hate to agree, many of their points appeal to many. American culture as exported by Hollywood is abhorrent to many. As one who has lived overseas, the appeal of this to many young people is even more abhorrent to their parents in much of the world. Disrespect for traditions, disrespect for parents, and disrespect for women almost always come up, as they should. All this is too often amplified in cultures where change comes slow, as it does in much of the third world. But also do not ignore societies and cultures that thrive on change, often quickly (USA, Japan, and Korea come to mind). Amplify all this “change” with global communications and many will listen to the blame America crowd.

Those who do not recognize how awesome American people may be perhaps are just lacking being through the school of hard knocks. Having been prejudiced against will change a lot of experience and worldly opinion. Those assuming most prejudice is white against black or brown just have not been “experienced”. Where is Jimi Hendrix when we need him, and he did serve in the 101st. Try seeing hippy girls making lewd suggestive sexual displays against midshipmen required to wear Navy uniforms back during the 1967 Newport Folk Festival will get one’s attention. This was not Joan Baez or Bob Dylan or Peter, Paul and Mary. It was raw prejudice. Just see the looks in the Georgia Tech faculty lunch lounge in the 1980’s by the academics against we ROTC types and it hurts (and I graduated from GaTech). Just live in Japan and see the difference in how many Japanese look at we “foreign devils” is an attention gainer. They especially are prejudiced against Negro foreign devils. Go through a Katrina “like” Philippines village after a typhoon, and see the hungry look on the family’s faces as they know the government will not be in to help them. As a Marine, I locked and loaded after this eyeball experience. And keep perspective, which usually comes with some experience. My Japanese experience often taught that local Okinawans disliked the Japanese Self Defense Force types as much as we American military types. It was not as much cultural, as being anti-military. If you live there and read their history, it will make sense to an American, as it does to the local Okinawans. And then there is my Saudi experience, but that is another story. I’m just glad I am not a woman born in Saudi Arabia.

So on to today’s politics, foreign and domestic. It’s a full plate, but the menu seems simple. Foreign wise, we are on the defensive which frustrates so many. Being on the defensive means too many foreigner thinkers are in charge of most everything, to include our American lives and budget. Domestic wise, it seems American frustration about Iraq is alive and well, as in dominating our domestic issues. But there are so many more domestic problems that solutions in the past worked, and have made us so awesome when our ancestors solved them for their time. But now it is time for domestic change, as in upgrade. This is a simple enough menu item for we awesome Americans, and fellow types.