A few nights ago as we were waiting for the fireworks to begin, we heard a young man near us shout out, “Happy Birthday, America!” We smiled at hearing his words, nodding in agreement.
Too often, we tend to focus on the negative aspects of our country. Yet, we neglect to remember the compelling reasons that our country is so great. We would like to highlight just a few of the many reasons why America is still the greatest place on earth to live.
- Freedom of Religion—We still can kneel and say a prayer nearly anywhere. Granted, we will have to get creative and maybe sneeze if we actually want to speak the word “God” in certain public places. This blog is being written at a local coffee shop where people gather to work or socialize in a quiet, peaceful environment. Looking around we see there are several different ways Christianity is being expressed: A table of four is talking about their Christian faith experience while at another table a single guy has his Bible open and seems to be working on an email relating to what he is reading. At another table there are two guys talking about their church. This is a freedom that isn’t common in many countries around the world.
- Freedom to Choose – Unlike citizens of many countries we are able to choose almost everything in our life from where we live to what we say. Reflecting back on the recent week’s news, a young couple who were recently married in a third world country, were killed by her parents for her marrying the husband she loved instead of the one they had arranged. There have been several of those stories recently, and we are so happy that here, in America, we can still marry whom we choose.
- Right to vote – Don’t like the people running your city, county, state or country? Vote someone in who will do a better job. Unlike people in many countries we have the right to select those who govern. Sometimes we don’t make the wisest decision and elect the wrong people but whose fault is that?
- Drinking water without concerns of deadly bacteria—we know, most water in this country has fluoride and chlorine, and that is something we definitely need to change, but in many third world countries, there are no water treatment plants to purify the water and if you should accidentally ingest it, you could die! Imagine turning on your faucet at home knowing, it could kill you.
- The ability to drive a vehicle on most roads that are paved and not terribly treacherous. Yes, those harsh winters can create some pot-holes but when is the last time you drove to work concerned that your shocks were shot? There are countries where dirt roads and mega pot-holes make the drive dangerous and difficult on digestion. Not to mention the security concerns while traversing those roads. Our road infrastructure is wonderful!
- Freedom to find abundance of food within a short drive. Gone are the days where the horse and plow were the ways you had to get your food.Today, you are within moments of a large supermarket that is bursting with fresh foods and produce. From one end of the store to the other, you can literally find foods that have been grown locally to thousands of miles away. You can even choose the foods that you believe will nourish your body!
- Freedom to Learn—Education is no longer only for the privileged. It has become a right for all citizens in this country. You have the right to learn to read and continue your education so you can graduate with a high school diploma. Large amounts of resources are expended every year for our young citizens to grow academically to continue the intellectual performance of this country.
- Freedom to choose your own doctor. You can still choose the doctor you feel most suits your type of lifestyle in healthcare. Paul and I tend to go to functional medical doctors who have a strong belief that the body can recover with proper nutrition. We periodically get blood tests to check nutritional levels to help us ensure we are getting everything our bodies need to stay strong and healthy.
