Presidential candidate Barack Obama's wife Michelle stuck her foot in her mouth last week when she said, "For the first time... I'm proud of my country". I will give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she either misspoke or was misunderstood. Cindy McCain quickly let it be known that, “I always have been and will always be extremely proud of my country."I believe that there is middle ground somewhere between the views of these two women, one of whom will likely be the next first lady of our country. There is certainly much to be proud of about America. It is still the land of the free (mostly - see below) and home of the brave. Opportunities still exist for people who are willing to work hard. We are free to worship as we please.
However, for Americans who are not too preoccupied by the modern equivalents of bread and circuses, there are numerous reasons why one may not be so proud. Such as:
- There are 1 million unborn babies murdered in our country every year. And this tragedy goes largely unmentioned except at election time when the Republican faction of the Government party want the Christian vote.
- One of every 100 American adults is in jail or prison. The U.S incarcerates more people than any other nation and is also the leader in inmates per capita. This is not healthy for a nation, whatever the reasons/causes may be.
- Nearly 40% of American children are born out of wedlock. Again, not healthy for the future of our nation.
- Our country launched a pre-emptive, i.e, unprovoked, war in Iraq that has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis, not to mention 4 thousand dead Americans and a trillion dollar price tag.
- Supposedly 40% of Americans attend church on a weekly basis. Based on my neighborhood on a Sunday morning I guess that the number is maybe half of that (and I'm in the Bible belt).
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