Patriotism is important, but it should be a labor of love rather than a blind infatuation. Good parents know when to challenge their children to help raise them to be better. The United States is still a relatively young nation. The IDS Editorial Board has some loving advice for our fine country.
“Dear America, you’re lucky to live in one of the only secular republics in the world. (Most other industrialized nations have state-sponsored churches). Maybe you could show some appreciation by turning up to vote once in a while?”
“One can have pride in their country without diminishing the importance of other nations.”
“Dismiss the idea pride equates to inflated self-importance. We can raise our flag without stomping on the flags ?of others.”
“You’re a petty thief, just admit it. We totally changed the Brits’ match of merry football into a sport whose commercials are more entertaining than the game itself. Speaking of swiping stuff from across the pond, life would be a lot more easier if we used the metric system, so could we steal that instead?”
“The overabundance of fast-food chains and their accessibility is contributing to high obesity rates. Not only is this affecting the well-being of the general population, but it’s also costing the nation billions of dollars in lost productivity.
While I understand the appeal of the profits earned from fast food, I hope there will be a way to make fast food healthier and make healthy food more ?accessible.”
“Why are you always up in everyone else’s business? While there is a tension to walk between using your resources to defend yourself and others, don’t you think that a little less war would be nice?”
“Patriotism is cool, but the Patriot Act, not so much.”
“We should be able to look around, notice what’s working in countries with less violence, less poverty and more happy people, and then adopt some of their policies. It’s OK to be different, but it’s also OK to be better.”
“As a home to some of the most brilliant teams of innovators the world has known, we have little excuse to not be better leaders in the pursuit for renewable energy advancement to help our destructive dependence on foreign oil.”
“The nation’s newer generations are being blamed for negatively changing the way we retain information and how we are tackling education when tuition rates are higher than most families can afford.”
“Slow down, America. Relax. Breathe in and appreciate everything you have here, where you can speak your mind to your government without the fear of being silenced.
You have no idea how lucky you are, but you miss the little things because you worry too much about the big things. Take in every moment and don’t stress yourself out so much, or you’ll ruin what is happening right in front of you.”
