Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
So, today I went to the bookstore, and of course the new issue of Dwell is on the rack. And, of course, even though I am a subscriber mine hasn't come yet. When I got home I happily skipped down the driveway, hopeful that I'd find it in my mailbox. Then I remembered, no mail today
America isn't perfect, by a long stretch. We need to show some awareness and appreciation for the rest of humanity, because we are only abut 300 million in world of over six and a half billion. We need to do a lot more to take care of the planet we all share. We need to remember that the freedoms we have are delicate, that they shouldn't be taken lightly, and that a lot of people enjoy far less than we do. In many countries I couldn't do this blog, or even speak my mind, or vote, or live without daily fear of violence, or have safe drinking water.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
For my liberty, I am thankful. For those without liberty, I am hopeful.
Happy Independence Day.
Image credit - ushistory.org
4 comment(s):
How about this take: America is natural selection in action. A wonderful thing happened with the discovery of the "New World". It was a land mass that was geographically separated from the rest of the world, and it required great effort to reach it. Only the over-achievers, with a propensity for delayed gratification and an eye on life in the distant future made it over here. The rest of humanity is developmentally delayed.
Only the self-selected few of us are capable of living the life we lead. The rest are brutish superstitious animals that cannot understand or appreciate our way of life. The more contact we make with the rest of the world, the more we are diluted. Global trade without global adoption of our values is a recipe for infection.
I think America is a great place, but far from perfect. There are also a lot of other great places in the world, also far from perfect. I don't at all subscribe to your view that the rest of the world are "brutish superstitious animals." There is good and bad everywhere, including here. I also could not disagree more that contact with the rest of the world is diluting our way of life. In fact, I'm going to India in a week and really looking forward to it.
But this really isn't a political blog. I debated putting up a post about the 4th at all. I just wanted to say I am glad I live somewhere I have fee speech and can do this blog, as I know that in lots of places, for lots of reasons, I couldn't.
I understand. I'll leave this topic alone, but I'll mention this about India: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/05/damon.india.widows/#cnnSTCPhoto
I hear ya, I do. There is some wicked ugly stuff in the world, and I really wouldn't want to live anywhere but in the USA. I'm not headed to India as a tourist, it's a business trip, and I have very mixed feelings about that (business in the developing world, and what that means). But these are the times we live in. Actually, I am working on another blog, a specifically political one, to talk about exactly these issues, but I don't quite have it figured out yet. I'll have it going before year end, I hope. These issues need some fresh views, and a frank and open forum to talk about them.
Anyway, I'll leave it at that too, and get back to talking modern homes.
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