America

Ahh!  Some days I have these moments where I'm like, "Ahhh! I need something to write with because I'm having these thoughts!"  Like for the past 35 minutes I've had all these things I wanted to write about and muse over but I've had to wait til I could get home and to a computer.

I just saw the movie America. It's that documentary.  Maybe you've heard of it, maybe not.  Google it :P  Anyways, it talks about what the world might be like if America was not here and some of the "indictments" that people have against America.  It's very thought-provoking and, for me at least, evokes/invokes (not sure what the correct word here is) my patriotism and pride in the American idea.

I feel like in recent decades there has been a growing sentiment that highlights, exacerbates, and maybe even fabricates, all the negative things about America, til one starts to develop this negative idea and perspective of what America is.  It's true America as a country and as a people are not perfect and mistakes have been made.  However, I believe that America was created from good standards, even the right standards.  The movie argued for what some of those founding standards were and are.

I don't want to go into detail of what the movie talked about.  I'll let anyone who wants to go see it for themselves figure that out.  I just want to express my thoughts and feelings.  I think the idea of America is the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  People have the right to live free and pursue what makes them happy.  Infringing on someone else's rights to these things is wrong.  Of course getting down to the nitty gritty of what is infringing and what isn't gets messy.  But I believe there is a right and a wrong and learning what they are is important and standing up for them is what should be done.

See.  I told you.  Thought-provoking.  None of that was really talked about in the movie, it's just what my thoughts were as I watched it.

I think ultimately America is a good country and as a people we try to do right by ourselves and by others.  People aren't perfect and so we don't always succeed.  But the idea of America is that you try to do and uphold what's right.  I'd rather do what I can to inspire people to love their country and be better people and treat everyone on earth with dignity and fight for what is right.  I don't want to spread negativity and shame.