True Love For America

The United States of America is unique.  It is one of a kind.  It’s not uniquely free, however.  It’s not uniquely democratic.  It’s not uniquely just or right.  It’s not uniquely educated or prosperous or crime free.  It’s certainly not uniquely old … or uniquely new for that matter.  What sets America apart isn’t any of this stuff … what sets America apart is its extreme diversity.  No other country can boast about such radical religious, cultural, racial, or ideological diversity.  It is the contributions of all these folks that have made this country strong, prosperous, innovative, and interesting.  Now, this diversity hasn’t always been celebrated.  In fact, America’s history is a history of resistance to this diversity.  It is a history that includes slavery, internment camps, hate crimes, lynchings, and border fences.  Nonetheless, the diversity persists.  I think that is a wonderful thing.  I love America not despite but because of its Chinatowns, its rainbow flags, its store signs in Spanish, its temples and its mosques, its soul food and its sushi, its blues and country music, its fasting and its festivals.  If you don’t … then you don’t really love America.