Is America the Greatest Nation in the World?

I, like many, have spent my life loving the back to back World War champion, Moon exploring, and God fearing red white, and blue; but as I have grown up I have found that what I love about America is not just it's beautiful flag, storied history, and beautiful landscape, what I love about America is that 1776 idea.

"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they were endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

This phrase in our Declaration of Independence is likely the most important, it's sort of the thesis for the document that follows, and establishes the nation that now encompasses 330 Million.

When Anthony Mackie, the star of the new Captain America film, made headlines and angered some this week by saying that what Captain America stands for is not what America stands for, he overlooked what so many others overlook when they think of our country. People think of America and confuse its purpose for its people, whom are all inherently flawed, (as is every human being per Romans 3:23). America has never quite lived up to its creed, and it never will. True equality is impossible. But America's continued striving for this creed, is why it is and will always be the greatest nation in the world. The nation as an idea is what makes it beautiful. The fact that Anthony Mackie can dislike parts of this country's history and still be wildly successful wearing the stars and stripes is beautiful. The fact Colin Kaepernick can make millions throwing an inflated ball around and take a knee under the flag of the nation that gave him that opportunity is beautiful. This country provides these men the freedom to love or not love their homeland. I don't speak on their behalf, and will never understand their perspectives and experiences enough to either justify or condemn their actions, but I know that there have been so many who have been arrested or killed in nations because they protested their governments, nations, and leaders. America must never be allowed to be a nation where people aren't free to express themselves. A nation where people are free to burn the flag that symbolically protects them.

This is what God gave us. That is free will. God gave us the opportunity to do worse than just dishonor our nation and our people, he gave us the opportunity to dishonor him through our sin. God in his infinite wisdom decided that he valued our freedom to choose to love him more than he needed us to love him, and in that freedom gave us the choice of eternal life with him, or to suffer without him. This is the freedom America acknowledges. Our constitution doesn't invent our rights, it rather acknowledges that they exist as created by God. And in it's wonderful design, that same constitution allows you to choose which god you believe gave you those rights, (which in my opinion only has one correct answer, but I love and respect your right to disagree).

But that freedom is precious and must be preserved and protected from all attackers. We can not become a nation where one Executive uses the justice system to attempt to prevent the democratic participation of his opponent. Nor can we become a nation where another Executive uses his power to prevent the exercise of the birthright of ALL born in this country to call themselves citizens. We must protect our constitution from all attackers; regardless of party, politics, or position.

We must protect it so that our great grand children have the right to protest, to write, to make art, to dream and to explore. We must protect it so that they have the right to hate us over the things they believe we did wrong based on their future interpretation of morality, as we unfairly do to our own ancestors.

THAT is America. It is and must stay a place where all citizens are given the right to live, from the moment they are conceived until the moment they pass on. It must stay a place where all citizens are given the right to be free of oppression, to speak and express their thoughts, beliefs, criticisms and religious (or lack of religious) values. It must once again become a place where all citizens can buy, own, and sell property to their heart's content without unjust taxation, so long as that no one else's rights are infringed upon by their ownership.

No one, not Anthony Mackie; nor Colin Kaepernick, Donald J. Trump Joe Biden, Thomas Jefferson, or Samuel P. Adams, can be allowed to take that future away from America, nor can they be allowed to have that America taken from them.

Commit yourself to protecting that future for your descendants, by taking a stand against authoritative figures who stand against it, regardless of their party affiliation. Live and love freely, appreciate the sacrifice of the men who have protected your right to do so, and let yourself enjoy your country by freeing yourself from the rhetoric of the politician and the movie star.

God bless you, and God bless the Dream of America

-Sam