American

I have been on an American kick these last few months.

I love America. 

I'm not just saying this, no one put me up to it--in fact, my readership has been down and it is doubtful anyone will read this, but I do love America.

It seems these days that many people hate america, people outside the U.S. hate American ideals. People inside the U.S. hate American politicians and find fault with American processes. It is sad, but there is actually some sort of fear attached to me coming out and saying that I love america. There is such a stigma surrounding saying the words, "I love America," that I think many Americans don't talk about their patriotism. --I find that disturbing.

I am American and I love it.

I know a surprising amount about other countries--I'm not uneducated, so let me stop any haters who might say that, "[I] don't know what other countries are like, so how can [I] love America?"
Furthermore, I know a lot about Socialism, Communism, Monarchies, Oligarchies, Theocracies, Republics, Democracies, even Anarchy, and I still appreciate my Democratic Republic.

What do I love about America?

• I love that a bunch of old farts who were somewhat clueless about the life beyond their own states were able to come together and create a unified agreement that bound each of those states together under one flag--and that it worked!
• I love that a general, who was a relative nobody in the military world, was given a commission by a congress of people who also knew very little about war, and that same general was able to convince people to work the most dangerous job in the world without pay, with barely any food, without uniforms, and merely the promise of a future that wasn't even very well fleshed out at the time.--This isn't an exaggeration on General George Washington's story, this is what happened, and yet somehow they were able to keep the British at bay until a political resolution was made.
• I love that America is a collection of people, each with different backgrounds, ethnicities, heritages, and cultures, and yet they still manage to get along.

Americans throughout history have always been adamant people. They are hardheaded. They are self-interested and primarily focused on taking care of their own with little regard or sympathy for others--YET--There is one thing that always makes that attitude alright: the willingness to negotiate. 

People, some American and some not, look down on America's capitalistic approach to most things in life: "There is a price tag on everything." You can find American ideas, American entertainment, and American Products throughout the world. Yes. Everything has a price, even our weapons are sold to other countries. The point is, America is only found everywhere because Americans are willing to negotiate. If we were like some of our foreign counterparts during our formation, we might be too proud to include certain countries at the negotiation table. 

History may have ended differently if we insisted on complete military dominance of England rather than reaching peace agreements, much like many countries of the modern world are attempting at this time.

America is what it is because we include others and then tell them: work with us, or work independently to do something good, but don't work against us--and I like that.