Americana Pt. 2: Five Things to Love about America

There are myriad reasons to be disappointed with America: materialistic culture, a history imbued with colonialism and slavery and a political process that excludes the desires of most of Americans.  But in spite of these and many other manifestations in which our country and countrymen have failed to live up to their potential there are things to celebrate and dare I say be proud of.  At the heart of it is imagination.  America is an imagined society that is already here but not yet – perhaps never yet – realized.  Here are the five things to love most about America.

5) Movies.  Hollywood makes a lot of coal but once in a while produces a diamond.  It exports the best and worst of America but at the end of the day is a reflection of what people want to see.  That a $130 billion+ per year industry can still respond fairly quickly to what you and I are in the mood for on a Friday night is amazing.

4) The Blues, jazz and rock n' roll.  The blues are the American art form and jazz and rock are extensions of it.  In their early and pure forms, they are miracles of initiative, freedom and cooperation existing as one.

3) Spirit of possibility.  We're not fatalistic.  We're either too stubborn or stupid to understand 'no.'  We'll keep working at it and reach the moon.  Literally.

2) Bill of Rights.  Flip open a history book.  This isn't found anywhere in there.  This is rare as it gets. Do you know what they actually are?  Read them here.

1) Liberty to love your God and neighbor freely and openly.  While this is wrapped up within the Bill of Rights, the first amendment is the best of them all.  The government is not the agent of this liberty but humbly accepts that it is in no position to impose upon it as it is granted by Almighty God.  For a government to etch this in stone is on par with water into wine and truly worth thanking God for.

Projector
Brooklyn, NY – September 2012