God Bless America

We just had friends in town who are moving to Canada. I've traveled a lot and found much to love about other countries, but I've never wanted to live anywhere but here. As we talked about Canada's universal health care, paid maternity leave, gay marriage and low crime rate, I started to wonder why.

So as sit here listening to the pop, crackle and boom of illegal fireworks going off in various quadrants of my neighborhood, I've decided to make a list of the things I love about the good old U.S. of A.

- The land.
From the sandy beaches of the Atlantic to the brazen peaks of the Rockies and the jagged coast of the Pacific, not to mention the redwood forests and amber waves of grain, this is beautiful country. I've never been so awed as when I first saw the impossibly beautiful moonscape of the Canyonlands in Utah, and I've never seen anything more comforting than the Hudson from the green, green hills of the river valley. I'm sorry we had to kill all those Native Americans, oppress them and drive them from their land, but I sure am grateful I've been able to visit these places and call them home.

- The government.
In spite of the fact that the current administration makes me want to run for the northern border, I think we've got a pretty good thing going here. The founding fathers set us up with some solid institutions and pretty effective checks and balances, and something's got to be said for bloodless regime changes every four to eight years.

- The melting pot.
I love that I can walk down a street in New York City and hear eight different languages in two blocks. I love the fact that burritos and bagels and hot dogs and pizza are all considered american cuisine, that chinese restaurants are ubiquitous and that you can now get Indian food at the mall. I love it that no matter where I live I learn something new from people I meet who moved here from countries I've never heard of.

There are lots of other things, like breakfast any time, bobby headed dolls, Thomas Edison, the blues and jazz and motown and swing, the Empire State Building, the muppets and yes, in spite of everything, Star Wars, but it's late and I'm sleepy and tomorow is another day for me to worry about who is going to replace Sandra Day O'Connor.