Land That I Love

6/30/2015

Land That I Love: Part 7 - A Beacon

"America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” - Alexis de Tocqueville

There is much to love about America. I’ve tried—and I feel as if I’ve been trying to paint the Sistine Chapel with crayons—to articulate the sentiment that has grabbed me, the stirring in my soul regarding this great nation. I don’t love everything about her. I don’t condone everything she’s done. I don’t agree with everything legislated by Congress or adjudicated by the Supreme Court or voiced under protection of the First Amendment. But there is much that I love, from the God-revering documents on which this nation is founded to the freedoms and rights I exercise daily without even recognizing them, from the innovators and inventors who have achieved the incredible and unbelievable to a military that is strong enough and brave enough to keep us safe, and from the majestic, wide-ranging landscapes to the heart and soul of the American people. To borrow the motto of my home state, there is no place like America.

If you’re reading this in Canada or Mexico, in Europe or South America, in Africa, Asia, or Australia, my goal is not to belittle your country or your way of life. Perhaps your chest swells when you hear your national anthem and see your colors hoisted. That’s great! It should. Maybe your culture and your heritage bring you great pride and honor. Outstanding! I don’t want to nitpick and disparage. But I do hope that those of you in other countries—and particularly your leaders—would be inspired to pursue the same freedom that provides opportunity that leads to accomplishment as we have here in America. I hope that you will embrace the principles and ideals that have made America great, just as I would hope America would adopt and integrate those qualities at which your nation excels.

But this series of essays has been written with an internal mindset. It’s geared for folks in Seattle and Miami, Boston and San Diego, from Dallas to Denver and New York to Chicago, in all the small towns and rural communities, and across the open countryside in between. I want those of us here in America, who live in the land of the free, to embrace it. Yes, we should criticize when criticism is warranted. But we should do so constructively. Yes, we should point out flaws and failures. But we should do with a mind toward mending them. However, we should also focus and draw attention to the successes, to the benefits, to the values of America. We should celebrate and cherish this homeland—its freedoms and opportunities and accomplishments, its privileges, its responsibilities, its land, its people, its indomitable spirit—and do so unabashedly. We should do so proudly. We should also do so circumspectly, with sober realization that we did not create these rights and freedoms and that if we aren’t careful, they could be taken away.

I’ve said it again and again: America is not perfect. I’ve never claimed so. No nation’s flag has ever been raised higher than all others, has flapped in the breeze with moral superiority. America is no different, no better than any other in this regard. But America is no worse. She is not a blight on the world, as some would claim. Opponents of America can point to a long list of wrongs and errors, born of affluence and autonomy. And they’re right. Just like I could pick out any other country and point to a list of wrongs and injustices and mistakes directly correlated to their system of government, social status, or culture. I tend to believe that America has less faults and flaws than most other nations, but if we engage in a mud-slinging contest, we’ll both get quite dirty. And to do so would miss the point of these essays. It is not that America is inherently better than everybody else, but that the idea behind her is grander and loftier. Or, to quote the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville, “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.”

America isn’t the world’s savior. The flaws and failures, the imperfections and injustices of mankind can’t be erased by a nationality, by a flag or an anthem, or even a Constitution or Bill of Rights. Only Jesus Christ can take away sins. And only when He reigns with an iron scepter will all wrongs be righted. Until that day, we are in darkness. We are limited by human beings, who being human, are going to fail. They will lie, cheat, steal, become corrupt. And the more power they have, the more they will lie, cheat, steal, and become corrupt. This is what our founding fathers realized. They knew they couldn’t create a perfect system of government where imperfect people were involved. That’s why they set up a system of checks and balances. That’s why they limited the powers of the government, lest abuses be carried out. That’s why they appealed to an Almighty God. To again quote de Tocqueville: “The Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other.”(1)

Held high in the arms of the Statue of Liberty is a torch. And it is that torch that is so perfectly symbolic of America. She is not a savior. She is not a utopian state. Rather, she is a beacon, a light showing the way. Showing, in a corrupt world, a highest ideal of how to live, how to govern, how to rely on a set of values and beliefs derived from the Creator. She is an unprecedented idea, one which has inspired for centuries, and she is an example of that idea, put into practice over and over again. Sometimes that light has flickered. Sometimes the gloom has nearly obscured her. She has been spit upon, blown at by gale-force winds, covered and doused and hidden, but she has not been snuffed out. No, she continues to blaze. As Francis Scott Key looked through the gloom of dawn and exclaimed, “O say does that start-spangled banner yet wave,” so can we look through the darkest of night and still see a torch on the horizon, a light shining brightly, a beacon showing us the way.

And it is because America is a beacon, and because of so many other points I’ve just touched upon in these essays—our freedoms, our accomplishments, our people, our land and its resources, our indomitable spirit—that she is indeed the land that I love.

1. De Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America, Volume I. London: Saunders and Oltey, 1835-1840.

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6/22/2015

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Land That I Love: Part 6 - Indomitable Spirit

“Americans never quit.” – General Douglas MacArthur

You know it, you’ve seen it, you’ve felt it—the American spirit. As I write this, I’m envisioning a truck commercial, set late in the afternoon with golden sunlight shining on a heavy-duty pickup as it splashes through the mud. John Mellencamp is singing. Or maybe it’s a beer ad with young, good-looking people flirting, dancing with sparklers, celebrating life. These are poor representations, but they do sort of get it right. Because you don’t see happy people walking the streets of North Korea. Can you picture the pickup trucks they drive in Europe? No, this isn’t about ripping other countries or bragging because we have better vehicles and alcohol. It’s about that underlying essence that those commercials draw on. It’s about the indomitable American spirit.

It’s kind of hard to define, so maybe it’s easier if we look at examples. They’re everywhere, throughout our history, from the pilgrims on the Mayflower to the unconquered Seminole people to the frontier men and women who clawed out sod houses on the plains to men like Booker T. Washington who was born into slavery but went on to advise presidents and found a college. The American spirit was what spurred young men to raise the American flag over Iwo Jima, while at home, their wives and mothers and sisters and daughters worked in factories to build airplanes and munitions. It was the American spirit that refused to quit at the Alamo and that charged up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders. And it was the American spirit, back in its infancy, that prompted the colonies to unite to overthrow an oppressive British government.

But the American spirit isn’t just part of our history. It’s who we are now. As it resurrected New Orleans from the grave after Hurricane Katrina, it similarly rebuilds cities and towns demolished by tornadoes or ravaged by floods. It unites communities in times of affliction and fuels individuals to succeed against the odds. From the entrepreneurs who built corporations from scratch to the bridges that span our mightiest rivers or the roads that cross the highest of mountain ranges to the urban renewal projects that revitalize neighborhoods and cities, the resoluteness is on display everywhere we look. Even Hollywood is infused by that spirit, as shown in movies like Rocky and Rudy or Mr. Holland’s Opus and The Pursuit of Happyness.

This American spirit, the essence of who we are, is profoundly exhibited by the men and women who have served and who serve in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and in our police and fire departments, our emergency response and rescue teams, and a myriad of law enforcement agencies. They don’t do it for the money. While they’re protecting us and our freedoms, they make less than picketing fast food workers demand for flipping burgers and slinging tacos. They don’t do it for the fame, as so many of them run from the limelight instead of seeking the attention they rightfully deserve. No, they do it to protect this great nation and the people who make it so. They do it knowing the risk, knowing the weight of responsibility they bear. They do it despite working long hours, missing family gatherings, and sometimes being gone for months or years at a time. Their loved ones bid them goodbye knowing they may come back scarred and wounded, changed forever, or may not come back at all. Like any segment of the population, our military and law enforcement ranks have their bad apples. They’ve made some mistakes, committed some wrongs. But by and large, they and their families are the finest, the bravest, the truest representation of the American spirit.

So what is it? Where does it come from? Is it unique to America? People in other countries have hard-working, never-give-up attitudes. People in other countries succeed against the odds, rise from the ashes, help and support each other in times of need. We’ve received the outpouring of their support for centuries. We’ve been inspired by their resolve. We’ve locked arms with other nations and they’ve locked arms with us in times of tragedy. These invincible characteristics aren’t purely American.

But there is something unique about the American soul, and I think it springs from the freedoms and rights we enjoy here, above and beyond those experienced anywhere else. The American spirit is often mischaracterized by people in other countries and misrepresented by Americans. It’s not a rebellion against all authority, nor a declaration of total independence from anyone or anything, although it does sometimes take on such attitudes. It isn’t meant to be a thumping of the chest, a “we’re better than you” mentality, although it sometimes comes off that way, and sometimes with good reason. Rather, at its core, I think it’s a celebration of freedom, a fervent refusal to surrender that freedom. Recognizing, as the founding fathers did, God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the indomitable American spirit is a staunch, determined, teeth-gritted quest to preserve and cling to those rights and that freedom through the strongest of storms and in the darkest of nights.

Perhaps the indomitable spirit of America was never on greater display than after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. It was on United Flight 93 in the form of passengers who refused to let their deaths be part of another suicide mission, instead rising up against the hijackers and forcing the plane down in a Pennsylvania field. It was in Manhattan, where, while steel girders were collapsing and debris clouds were mushrooming and people were fleeing for their lives, NYPD and FDNY and first responders rushed toward the chaos to save lives and provide comfort. It was in ballparks and stadiums a few weeks later, when we refused to live in fear and made every effort to resume life as normal, and when Old Glory flapped majestically in the breeze, high and strong and free while we sang our national anthem and “God Bless America” with renewed vigor. It was active in people like Pat Tillman, who resigned from a lucrative NFL career to enlist in the Army Rangers to defend his country. It resonated from a bullhorn when President George W. Bush stood atop the rubble of the Twin Towers, arms around those conducting rescue efforts, and boldly declared, “I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people—and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!” It was the motivating factor for building the new One World Trade Center (a.k.a. “Freedom Tower”) that stands 1776 feet tall, emblematic of the year our indomitable spirit was first declared. And it flew alongside Robert O’Neill as he and fellow Navy SEALs conducted the raid on a compound in Pakistan and put three bullets in the head of Osama bin Laden, extracting justice against the greatest enemy of America in a generation and bringing closure to many of 9/11’s victims. The indomitable spirit can be attacked, knocked down, dirtied, bloodied, tarnished, and tired, but it cannot and will not be extinguished.

This indomitable American spirit that was on display when the pilgrims survived a two-month journey on the Mayflower and the first, brutal winter in the New World in order to establish a new, free colony; that was on display when the colonists took up arms to overthrow their British overlords; that was on display when the Union Army fought and died to preserve our young nation; that was on display when pioneers moved west and tamed the great American wilderness; that was on display as “The Greatest Generation” stormed the shores of Normandy and not only captured the beaches but also the farmlands and forests and cities on their way to liberating Europe; that is still on display in the woman who kisses her family goodbye before a graveyard tour through the ghetto or the man who kneels and hugs his wife’s womb before heading overseas to a hostile country to defend our freedom—it is this spirit that has made America great for these two and a half centuries, and it is what will continue to make America great for centuries more!

“We have no choice, we people of the United States, as to whether or not we shall play a great part in the world. That has been determined to us by fate, by the march of events. We have to play that part. All that we can decide is whether we shall play it well or ill.” – President Theodore Roosevelt

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6/16/2015

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Land That I Love: Part 5 - Resources

“O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!”
- Katherine Lee Bates

America is the land of freedom, the land of opportunity, the land of accomplishment. They build off each other, they exist because of each other, but they are not in a vacuum. Intrinsically linked to this triumvirate is an abundant supply of resources, from the dirt and rock that make up the physical United States of America to its host of natural commodities to the people and culture that constitute this country. Some of them are essential to our survival; others aid in our achievements; still others provide pure enjoyment.

I’ve been blessed to travel and see much of this country. I’ve driven highways through mile after mile after mile after mile of corn and soybean fields in Indiana and Illinois, seen hay bales peppering rolling hills in Iowa, smelled the cattle on a thousand hills of western Nebraska and eastern Colorado, and eaten the fruit grown in orchards of Florida and California. I’ve flown over the infinite irrigation circles of America’s Breadbasket. I’ve tasted the trout from mountain streams and fresh seafood from coastal waters. I’ve devoured American cheese from cows raised in Wisconsin, fried eggs and bacon provided by local farms, and grilled burgers from some of those aforementioned cattle.

I’ve stood atop and inside of Hoover Dam, which harnesses the power of the Colorado River to provide electricity to parts of Arizona, California, and Nevada. I’ve driven beneath massive, gyrating wind turbines and past derricks drawing from abundant reserves of oil. I’ve drunk the refined water of Lake Michigan (and if you’ve smelled Lake Michigan, that’s no small feat.) I’ve resided in lodges and cabins built with lumber hewn from great cedar forests. I’ve worn clothes made in America, from cotton reaped in America. I’ve seen the gigantic steel mills of the rust belt and the massive factories that produce so many American goods. I’ve delved deep into the shafts from which gold, silver, iron ore, and coal that sustain our economy have been mined. (Okay, no, I haven’t gone into the mines. I have no such courage. But thousands of other men and woman have not just visited the mines, they have labored and toiled in them to support their families and to furnish our way of life.)

We take for granted our electricity, our clean water, our abundant supply of food. We grumble about having to drive through the “boring” landscape of the heartland. We protest the extraction of natural resources other countries would die to possess. We fail to cherish a cornucopia of resources.

I’ve met people of different races, colors, creeds, backgrounds, upbringing, means, and traditions who have each brought their unique perspective, abilities, and vision to contribute to society. Resources aren’t just inanimate objects. They are the inventors, designers, creators, and blue-collar laborers who take potential and forge results. America is a nation of immigrants who have come to America, not only to gain what it had to offer, but also to offer something themselves. Doctors, scientists, and artists have brought their unique skills to America. So too have the “average Joes,” the men and women who maybe don’t have some exclusive proficiency, but who do have a work ethic, a contributive mindset, a will to make America great. As vast as natural resources are, perhaps our human resources are even greater.

America is also a land of unlimited diversity that affords unlimited amusement and entertainment. “From sea to shining sea” we find prairies, deserts, rolling hills, mountains, rivers, lakes, swamps, and forests. We smell the cherry blossoms of spring, feel the warmth of summer sun, crunch through the fiery leaves of autumn, and romp and frolic through powdery snowfalls. Our wildlife is as varied as our people. I’ve seen American bald eagles and hummingbirds, speckled fawns and bugling elk. I’ve watched common ground squirrels and marveled at thundering American bison. I’ve seen dolphins frolicking and black bears lumbering in their natural environments. I’ve yet to see the whales in person, and I still haven’t spotted a moose. But I know they’re out there. From cougars to kittens, puppies to howling wolves, from the condor to the cardinal, and the alligator to the Appaloosa, America is home to almost every species on the planet. Those that aren’t native to America can be seen in amazing zoos and wildlife refuges.

We have it all in America, for our practical use and for our pure entertainment and pleasure. In my travels, I’ve crossed the grasslands of Minnesota and the badlands of South Dakota. I’ve lounged under Nebraska’s endless sky and craned my neck at the jagged peaks of Glacier National Park. I’ve peered over the rim of the Grand Canyon and nearly scraped the sky atop Rocky Mountain National Park’s Trail Ridge Road. I’ve stood—miniscule—beneath the redwoods of California, smelt the sulfur of Yellowstone’s geysers and springs, hunkered in the swamps of South Carolina, and stalked the Saguaros of the American Southwest. I’ve breathed the sultry air of the Deep South, endured the biting cold of the Great North, and felt both extremes in the span of 24 hours in the Midwest. I’ve felt the waves of the Atlantic and watched the sun sink into the Pacific. I haven’t been everywhere like Johnny Cash, but I’ve come close. And the more I see, the more I appreciate this amazing land—the actual land.

For all I’ve seen, I’ve yet to visit the tropics of Hawaii, treading the black sand beaches and gawking at lava flowing into the sea. I’ve never braved the rugged frontier of Alaska, navigating the icebergs of its fjords or climbing the majestic, wildlife-laden mountains. I haven’t hovered over the Everglades, spanned the mouth of the mighty Mississippi, passed beneath the arches of Utah, or cruised Highway 1 through Big Sur. I’ve never hiked along the rugged coastline of Maine, basked in Key West’s tropical paradise, or run my hands over the heads of golden wheat fields in Kansas. I haven’t spied the volcanic peaks of the Great Northwest, rafted the wild waters of a Western river, or bid the day farewell from San Diego’s balmy shore. As much as I’ve seen and done in America, there’s just as much yet to see and do and experience.

America is not alone in its scenic beauty, astounding wildlife, natural resources, or ingenious people. But no other country is so diverse, so rife with assorted possibilities, so full of potential. No nation blends the variety of natural phenomena, raw materials, and the cultural melting pot that is America. Perhaps I’m just being poetic, but this great land and all that it provides seems to epitomize the American spirit, the freedom and opportunity and accomplishment that are essential to who and what we are.

“When an American says that he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising plains, the great mountains, and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect.” – Governor Adlai Stevenson

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6/9/2015

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Land That I Love: Part 4 - Accomplishment

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong

We walked on the moon.

Think about that for just a moment. We, who of our own power can only expel ourselves a few feet into the air, traveled 250,000 miles into space. Having correctly calculated the gravitational pulls of the sun, the earth, and the moon, we created the Apollo spacecraft capable not only of exploding out of earth’s atmosphere but also of alighting on the moon. And then we—vicariously through Neil Armstrong—stepped down from the lunar module and actually walked upon the surface of the moon.

And by “we” I mean Americans. It wasn’t the Soviets, not the Chinese, not the Germans or the French or the English or the Japanese. Americans landed on the moon. That’s not to disparage those other nations; it’s to celebrate ours.

America is the story of accomplishment and achievement. Compared to other nations, America’s history is short. But it is not lacking. In fact, it surpasses them by far. Look at what America has accomplished: We invented the airplane, discovered electricity, developed MRI and laser technology, excavated the Panama Canal, and created the personal computer, e-mail, and the Internet. Sunglasses, potato chips, credit cards, chocolate chip cookies, Band-Aids, can openers, CDs, microwaves, air conditioning, and Tupperware were all invented in the United States. Edison created the phonograph and pioneered the electric light bulb, Eastman created photographic film, and Ford utilized the assembly line to create the Model T in America. The liquid-fuel rocket, disposable diapers, Kevlar vests, GPS, Scotch tape, cell phones, and machine guns are American inventions. We conceived the telephone, the cotton gin and mechanical reaper, pioneered the steamboat, constructed the first skyscraper, produced the atomic bomb, and developed the Polio vaccine. We founded marvelous national parks, generated the Hollywood film industry, carved Mount Rushmore, imagined Disney Land, and conceived football, basketball, and baseball. We erected the Golden Gate Bridge, Hoover Dam, the Empire State Building, and the stately structures and memorials in Washington, D.C. We laid the first transcontinental railroad and paved the interstate highway system. Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis are products of America. The list of American bands is as exhaustive as is our sound and style preference. We penned To Kill a Mockingbird, The Grapes of Wrath, Twain’s tales along the Mississippi, Gone With the Wind, and Poe’s chilling classics. We painted icons such as Washington Crossing the Delaware, American Gothic, and Let Us Have Peace, and saw artists like Cole, O’Keefe, and Pollack. And this list just scratches the surface!

But not all of these inventers were Americans, were they? Alexander Graham Bell (telephone), Levi Strauss (blue jeans), Nikola Tesla (radio, fluorescent lighting, induction motor, Tesla coil), Einstein (where do I begin?), and John Roebling (suspension bridges) are just a few great inventors and innovators born in other countries. So how can America claim them? Because they all came to America so they could create, invent, flourish, prosper, and thrive. It is not an American birthright that leads to great accomplishment. Rather, it is the American opportunity resulting from American freedom that provides a workshop for American achievement.

America has the best hospitals, top schools and universities, more Global 500 companies, premier movie and television studies, elite sports leagues (soccer notwithstanding), and—this is just personal opinion—the best food anywhere. You want Chinese, Mexican, Italian, fine French cuisine, Indian, Thai, Mediterranean, Middle-Eastern—you can get it all in America—often at the local mall. We also have the hamburger, thank you very much.

Yeah, you can nitpick and find flaws in a lot of these inventions. I’m not saying they’re wholly altruistic. Yes, other nations have done pretty well in giving us gun powder, the steam engine, smallpox vaccine, and the flush toilet. People rave about the food in Italy and the cityscapes of Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, and art and architecture of Europe. America is not the only source of great inventions, technological breakthroughs, and scientific innovations. But her accomplishments outshine all the rest. That’s why inventors have long come to America. That’s why sports stars play in our leagues. That’s why those in need of healthcare seek treatment here. That’s why actors and actresses aspire to Hollywood. It’s not because we have in intrinsically better soil or our DNA is more special, but because we have freedom and opportunity that do not exist elsewhere.

Ask yourself, what great inventions came out of Soviet Russia? What improvements did the Nazis give us? How are the oppressive regimes in the Middle East and Africa enriching society? Is it because Russian people, German people, Arab people, African people are less talented, intuitive, creative than American people? Of course not. American people are Russian, German, Arab, African, English, French, and Asian.

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of America is America. According to journalist and author John Gunther, “Ours is the only country deliberately founded on a good idea.” Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, took that a step further: “America is the only idealistic nation in the world.” This great nation was founded by men, who I dare say, understood the human condition and the ways of the world as well as any that have ever lived. They knew that America could not follow in the footsteps of so many nations before them. And thus they fashioned a constitutional republic—“if you can keep it” as Benjamin Franklin told a woman after exiting Independence Hall at the close of the Constitutional Convention. Or, as President George Washington wrote in a 1789 letter to English historian Catherine Macaulay-Graham, “The establishment of our new Government seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness by reasonable compact in civil society.”

And yet, here we are over 200 years later. America has been attacked by everyone from King George III to Osama bin Laden, nearly torn apart by a four-year Civil War, beleaguered by slavery and segregation, worn thin by World Wars, critiqued and criticized here and abroad, and has fixed flaws while discovering more. But this extraordinary experiment—this prodigious idea—has stood the test of time. The great American experiment has been an overwhelming success story. Perhaps none of the myriad American accomplishments—built on opportunity born of freedom—are so remarkable, outstanding, and influential as that. Our “alabaster cities gleam,” our infrastructure abounds, our technology innovates, our stars shine, our discoveries revolutionize—all as a reflection of the great idea that is America.

“The idea that anything is possible, that's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of America. It's like hey, look there's the moon up there, let’s take a walk on it, bring back a piece of it. That's the kind of America that I'm a fan of.” – Bono(1)

1. Bono, “Because We Can, We Must.” Commencement Address. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. May 17, 2004. Address.

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6/2/2015

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Land That I Love: Part 3 - Opportunity

“The constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness, you have to catch it yourself." - Benjamin Franklin

According to Webster’s Dictionary, opportunity is defined thusly: “Fit or convenient time or situation; a time or place permitting or favorable for the execution of a purpose; a suitable combination of conditions; suitable occasion; chance.”(1) It is that last word I want to latch upon: Chance. America is not a guarantor of success, a promise or assurance of accomplishment, an inevitable certainty. America is a chance. America is a favorable set of circumstances, a fertile field in a hospitable climate. America is opportunity.

Built on the foundation of freedom, opportunity is the offshoot that makes that freedom worthwhile. Where freedom is removed, chance is denied, opportunity is restricted, the environment is hostile. It is the opportunity, the chance to succeed, to achieve purpose, to accomplish greatness, that gives freedom its value. A man who has had his prison sentence commuted is indeed free from the agony and suffering of prison, from the restriction of liberty. But it is the opportunity—the unlimited possibility—that exists outside of prison that makes those barbed-wire-topped walls and iron bars restrictive and that makes freedom such a prize.

The concluding lines of the Declaration of Independence state that “as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” These words are cloaked with concepts of freedom and opportunity. They are inexorably linked. Opportunity cannot exist without freedom, and freedom that produces no opportunity is freedom in name only.

To understand American opportunity, we need only look at our history. At the colonists, who sailed to America not only to gain religious and political freedom, but also with opportunity to form a great nation, to build, settle, trade—to thrive. At the American frontier, a wild, untamed, treacherous territory that would see barren flatlands transformed to fertile farms and ranches; rugged mountain wildernesses home to scenic byways, ski resorts, and national parks; and an inhospitable, desolate desert developed into “America’s playground.” At immigrants over the centuries who sought and found religious freedom, political asylum, economic relief, and social equality in America. Even at the dark clouds of racial divide and segregation, where opportunity existed for a civil rights movement that has brought about multiple reforms and improvements—a civil rights movement that would never have been given a chance to take root in many other countries and periods of history.

But you don’t need to study history to see opportunity in America. It is everywhere. In America, you have the opportunity to go to school, receive a quality education, study the arts, play sports, go to college, get multiple degrees, and learn a trade. You can get a job, quit a job, go back to school, advance at your place of work, start your own business, and found a company or corporation that makes millions (look at Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg, to name a few). You can have a family, or not have a family. You can have no children or a dozen. You can raise them how you want, send them to school or school them at home, and they can participate in untold activities and explore unrivaled options and potential. You can read, shop, travel, invent, discover, play. Your opportunity is only as limited as your imagination.

Opportunity allows you to do great things. Take Michael Jordan, a high school basketball player who wasn’t good enough to make his varsity team. But he kept working, kept practicing, kept striving. A few years later, he made the game-winning shot for North Carolina in the National Championship Game. Within the next two decades, Jordan went on to win 6 NBA Championships and two Olympic gold medals, besides all of his business accomplishments. (If you’re not aware, he’s sold a few pair of sneakers.) Michael Jordan is just one example of American opportunity. He wasn’t born into prosperity, didn’t have a gold path to success. He worked hard, took advantage of opportunities, and became an overwhelming professional triumph story. Professional sports is just one “community” that is chock-full of examples just like Jordan’s. Authors, actors, musicians, artists, and inventors have thrived in America, not because the American people are more creative than those in other countries, but because America has more opportunities, from resources to inspiration to demand to exposure mediums to willing consumers.

Opportunity is why people flock to America. Legal immigrants have long seen America as a place to start over, as a place to make something of their lives. It’s not just about escaping tyranny and oppression in their home country, but about residing in a place where they can prosper. How many times have you heard the story about the man or woman whose parents or grandparents—or who they themselves—came to America with nothing but the clothes on their backs and with pennies to their name, who then worked hard, made the most of opportunity, and became a successful business owner, author, CEO, sports star, artist, or celebrity? Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known for being a bodybuilder turned Hollywood tough guy turned governor of California. He’s often lampooned for his accent and movie catchphrases, his near-comical physique, or the fact that an action hero could become such a powerful politician. Regardless of your opinion of his movies or politics, you cannot deny Arnold’s success. Said Schwarzenegger, “As you know, I'm an immigrant. I came over here as an immigrant, and what gave me the opportunities, what made me to be here today, is the open arms of Americans. I have been received. I have been adopted by America.”(2)

I realize that to some, this talk of opportunity rings hollow. Circumstances seem set against them. The field they seek to plow and plant is hard and full of rocks. Indeed, the structure and systems that provide opportunity to so many seem inclined against many others. I can’t argue with some of their experiences or deny their grievances. The cold hard fact is, some people are dealt a rather lousy deck of cards. But in America, at least they get to play out the hand. They have a seat at the table. Opportunity is a chance. It may not be a great chance. It may be hindered by bad breaks and rotten luck. Or it may be enriched by favorable turns of events and illuminated by warm sunlight. But the chance is there. We’ve seen the success stories, many of whom had only an improbable dream, whose path needed forging and clearing. But they made it. They took advantage of their opportunity. They were given a chance, and they made the most of it. That is what America offers. A chance. An opportunity. If embraced, if utilized, if combined with daring vision and indefatigable effort, the potential accomplishments are almost unlimited.

“In this country, there is an opportunity for the development of man's intellectual, cultural, and spiritual potentialities that has never existed before in the history of our species. I mean not simply an opportunity for greatness for a few, but an opportunity for greatness for the many.” – Edwin H. Land(3)

1. "opportunity." Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. 2015. http://webstersdictionary1828.com/ (1 June 2015).
2. At a news interview after an August 2003 appearance on The Tonight Show where he announced his gubernatorial campaign.
3. Land, Edwin. “GENERATION OF GREATNESS: The Idea of a University in an Age of Science.” Ninth Annual Arthur Dehon Little Memorial Lecture. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. May 22, 1957. Lecture.

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5/26/2015

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Land That I Love: Part II - Freedom

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” - Galatians 5:1

These words were written by the Apostle Paul to the Christian believers at Galatia. I suggest that a similar statement could be made to the people of the United States of America: “It is for freedom that the founding fathers declared our independence.” If you’ve never read that document, or haven’t read it recently, I encourage you to do so. It is brimming with rich, powerful, candid words, phrases, and concepts: self-evident truths, equality of man, endowment by the Creator, unalienable Rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And that’s just from one sentence. The entire focus of the document is freedom. Freedom from a government that refused to assent to laws; that hindered free election of officials, bribed judges, and denied legal rights and protections; that used the military to control and manipulate citizens and looked the other way to its abuses; and that levied unjust taxes. And that’s just a sample.

Or read the Constitution. It’s long, and the language isn’t always easy to digest. But sometimes it’s good to have to think a little when we read, even to have to look up the definition of a word. Particularly, check out the Bill of Rights. The founding fathers were very clear about giving the citizens of the newly forged country the freedom to worship who or what, how, and if they pleased, the freedom to speak their mind—even to the government—on any topic, the freedom to protect themselves, the freedom from an oppressive military, the freedom of privacy, the freedom of a legal system set up in their favor and providing every opportunity for accused persons to defend themselves, and the freedom from an exhaustive set of rules and regulations (see the Tenth Amendment).

America is known as the “land of the free.” One of our greatest symbols is the Statue of Liberty. America is nothing if not free. The colonists originally came to the “New World” because of religious oppression. They wanted to worship God without the king dictating the terms of that worship. Now in America, you have the freedom to believe any religion or none. You can worship God or not. You can go to church or go to brunch or go back to bed. You can give your money to church or charity or keep it for yourself. You can even worship a tree, the sun, or a bowl of spaghetti if you so choose. Or you can worship yourself alone. The government has no legal grounds to dictate one way or the other.

Or take political freedom. You get to vote. Just let that sink in for a moment. You--you!—get a say in how your country is run. It’s a small say, admittedly, one that in and of itself won’t accomplish much. But you are part of the process. If you think that’s inconsequential, talk to someone who has lived in Iraq under a dictator like Saddam, or in a Communist regime, or in a poor country governed by feuding warlords. The rafts between Cuba and Miami have always been heading north.

Beyond voting, you get to voice your dissent. You can be critical of your elected officials. Log on to Twitter. President Barack Obama gets eviscerated by his opponents. Had social media seen similar popularity during the George W. Bush administration, imagine the venom that would have been spewed by his detractors. You can call the president names, question his heritage, lampoon him with social media memes and cartoons—all without being thrown into a windowless prison or under the blade of the guillotine. You can protest a war you believe is unjust, organize a march against oppression—perceived or real—and campaign on TV, in the press, online, or in a public square for the candidate of your choice. You can even burn the flag, the very symbol of the freedom that allows you to do so, with impunity. The words of President Thomas Jefferson two centuries ago are just as practical today: “How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!”1

Legally, you’re granted unparalleled rights and liberties. An accused man or woman is lawfully declared innocent until proven guilty instead of the other way around. Even the most heinous of criminals are given the benefit of the doubt and provided due process, lest there be a miscarriage of justice. Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “It is better one hundred guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer.”2 Agree or disagree with his sentiment, it is that idea that was infused into the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, in direct contrast to an English monarchy that provided almost no legal rights, instead relegating the fate of the accused to the whims of the ruling class.

In America, freedom is not based on skin color, gender, age, social status, or religious or political beliefs. Yes, there have been deficiencies along the way. Yes, some still exist. America isn’t perfect. Never has been, never will be. But like that symbol in the New York Harbor, America holds high a torch to light the way. I love that America would allow a black man to become president, even if I disagree with his beliefs and ideology. I love that America allows you and I to disagree about that president’s policies, vehemently at times. I love that America doesn’t prohibit me from succeeding because I come from a lower middle class family, just like it doesn’t grant you automatic success if you are born into wealth or prosperity. In America, a black man from a poor, inner city family can become a successful neurosurgeon, author, and potential presidential candidate like Dr. Ben Carson. In America, Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller can go from poverty so extreme that, according to Carnegie, he would sleep to “forget the misery of hunger,” to founding corporations worth billions of dollars. In America, Ursula Burns grew up in the gang-infested projects of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, raised by a single-mother who had immigrated from Panama, before becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. These are just a few of thousands of similar tales. In America, you can write your own story, because you have freedom to do so. You have freedom to pursue the level of education you want, work where you want and as hard as you want, and live or travel where you want. No, it might not be easy. It might be near impossible because of certain circumstances. But people like Dr. Carson and Ursula Burns show it is possible. Icons like Carnegie and Rockefeller demonstrate the pursuit of happiness provided by life and liberty. In America, the rights and freedoms are in place. The rest is up to you.

The founding fathers clearly expressed the belief that they did not create these rights and freedoms. Instead, they deemed them “unalienable Rights” that exist whether the founding fathers, the current form of government, or this or that president recognize them, because they are not granted by the government. They are granted by an Almighty God. The purpose of the Constitution was not to create a form of government that would levy certain rights and freedoms, for that would not truly be freedom. Rather, it was to restrict as much as feasibly possible that government, thus opening the channel through which those rights and freedoms could flow.

There will always be an incompleteness to America’s freedom because the nature of man is to restrict freedom. We fight a constant battle against oppression that would seek to hinder and constrain and eradicate liberty. Look at history. Look at Hitler, Ho Chi Minh, or Hussein. Or tune in to the nightly news and watch how ISIS oppresses the people of Iraq and Syria or the plight of the North Koreans under Kim Jong-un.

It is for freedom that the founding fathers declared our independence. It is for freedom that the minutemen took arms against an overwhelming British army. It is for freedom that President Lincoln and the Union Army fought the Civil War. It is for freedom our fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers—even our great, great grandfathers—fought two World Wars. It is for freedom that our friends and loved ones are stationed around the globe to this day. It is for freedom that they have bled and died, coming home broken or not at all. It is therefore our duty—and it was recognized by the founding fathers as such—to preserve and protect that freedom with our final breath.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” - President Ronald Reagan

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1. Letter to James Monroe. Paris, June 17, 1785.
2. Smyth, Albert H. The Writings of Benjamin Franklin. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1905-1907.

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5/15/2015

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Land That I Love: Part I - Awakening

“Sure I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave?” – John Wayne

One of my summer traditions is going to a baseball game with my dad. I have vivid recollections of homeruns, strikeouts, and comebacks, of eating hot dogs and peanuts, of conversations about anything and everything between a father and son. That tradition is, for me, a little slice of Americana.

Before every one of these baseball games, we pause to “honor America” with the singing or playing of the national anthem. It’s a ceremony that at times feels forced and insignificant, and that, truth be told, has always struck me as a little odd. Why do we put on a display of patriotism before a sporting event? After all, it’s not an international competition like the Olympics. The U.S.A. isn’t battling the dreaded Soviets of old or the kindhearted (yet still rival) Canadians. The hometown Brewers are playing Houston, San Diego, or New York. And yet, right up there with memories of dramatic baseball moments, ballpark foods, and time with my pops, are images of those national anthems:

My eyes are dutifully drawn to flag in the outfield as it flutters gracefully in the warm, evening breeze. Mid-song, they drift a little farther to the POW/MIA flag that hangs from the rafters, reminding me of the price that was paid and is still being paid to preserve my freedom to hang out at the ballpark on a Tuesday night in May or June. Fireworks symbolize “bombs bursting in air”—bombs that couldn’t keep “that star-spangled banner” from flying over Fort McHenry, a sight that prompted Francis Scott Key to pen the eponymous song. I think of my grandfather, who served in the European theater of World War II, then of my cousin and my friends who have served and are still serving in various branches of our armed forces. And before I know it, that sometimes compulsory national anthem makes the baseball game about to be played seem commonplace. At the same time, it adds to its value. Because it’s not just a baseball game. It’s a celebration of a way of life, of the freedoms we alternately cherish and take for granted here in America.

I didn’t always feel this strongly. I used to look at our flag as a piece of cloth. I used to find the national anthem a hassle, self-conscious of how my hair would look once I removed my cap. I don’t know that I was unpatriotic as much as a little apathetic, taking too much for granted. I was still proud of Grandpa for his service, still looked up to and respected the men and women in our military, and was still grateful to be an American. But something was missing. And something has changed.

I can’t say exactly what. Maybe I just matured a little bit. I’ve seen how quickly the rights we presuppose can be taken away from us. I’ve gained a greater understanding of the realities and complexities of the world. I’ve seen how the principles on which this country was founded have come under attack, and I’ve seen glimpses—here and abroad—of what a country without those principles looks like. In short, I’ve discovered—and in some cases re-discovered—why America is such a great nation. I’ve come to appreciate more and more the blessings of living in America. And I’ve now felt compelled to compile a series of essays on why I feel the way I do about America, and why she is worthy of that love.

I don’t mean to create a rift along political lines. I don’t want to take shots at other countries. I don’t intend to gloss over America’s mistakes and failures. There are plenty, as the American people are full of faults and warts, messing up and getting in trouble again and again. But when our president spends more time apologizing for America than lauding her, when lawmakers and judges stray further and further from the Constitution, when the world is filled with disdain for America, I feel obliged to rise to her defense, to brush the dust of negativity off her shoulders, to boast about my girl in front of my buddies a little bit.

You see, I’m tired of people denigrating my country. Our ancestors died and were buried in European graves to free that continent from Hitler’s tyrannical grip, yet many in Europe look down their noses at us. American blood and treasure was spilt in the sands of the Middle East, rescuing Kuwait, protecting the Saudis, and freeing the Iraqi people, yet we’re hated and cursed at by thousands—millions—in that region. Even here at home, so many people rip American standards that provide them the right to do exactly that. I’ve had enough. America isn’t perfect. Far from it. But it is time that we refuse to listen quietly to false assertions, mischaracterizations, and unwarranted hate. It is time that we harken back to the birth of this great nation and cherish the rights and freedoms bequeathed to us. It is time that we fully embrace our freedom, capitalize on our opportunity, and rejoice in our achievements. It is time that we live by and share the values that have made us who we are.

So that is why I am writing this series of essays. I want to rekindle the flame of passion that should burn deeply within all of us. Perhaps America has lost a little luster in your eyes. I want to restore it. Perhaps antagonism toward America has taken you over. I want to replace it. Perhaps your heart already bursts with love for America. I want to enhance it. My hope is that I can accurately convey not just this depth of feeling but the reasons behind it, so that you, like me, will be able to define these United States of America as the “land that I love.”

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” – President Abraham Lincoln

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Land That I Love: Part 7 - A Beacon

Land That I Love: Part 6 - Indomitable Spirit

Land That I Love: Part 5 - Resources

Land That I Love: Part 4 - Accomplishment

Land That I Love: Part 3 - Opportunity

Land That I Love: Part II - Freedom

Land That I Love: Part I - Awakening

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