This is My America

I've noticed a few posts about 9/11 today and thought I'd put in my own two cents:

September 11, 2001
I was sitting in school in fifth grade. We were only about two weeks in, but had our routine down enough that I can say it was  a normal Tuesday. Then, right about 9am, we heard news that the twin towers had been attacked. Teachers went to tvs to see it for real. Everyone was concerned. At 10 years old I was just old enough to understand what was going on. Terrorists (someone who causes something really bad to happen, like be making a plane crash into a building or setting off a bomb) had attacked America.

Immediately we understood what had happened. It was all anyone cared about. It was emotional, intense, & humbling. Suddenly we felt threatened. Rumors of why, who, how it happened spread instantly. People had died a horrific death; buildings had crumbled quicker than I'll write this blog post; the world as I knew it had changed.

There was a breath of Americanism that came through that day. We were all one America, strong, united, free, proud, saddened, angered, and scared. This isn't very different from what we were at 7:15am that morning as I walked down my driveway to meet the school bus. We were still America, strong, free and proud.To

September 12, 2001
As per usual I got up in the morning and ready for school. There was a different feeling to the morning though. The news was playing in the background (we always watched the Today Show starting at 7am, if only just as background noise) and the news focused on the attacks of the day before. It was very solemn.

My  brother and sister were running behind and would certainly need a ride to school that day, but I was ready to go so I went to meet the bus. As I neared the end of my driveway (my house was set back in the woods away from the road, the driveway curved down the slight hill and then came straight out to where it combined with our neighbor's driveway, had our mailboxes, and had our flower garden) I stopped and stared. Standing proud, waving in the wind of the flower garden were American flags. I stood there for what felt like forever, teary eyed. Nothing else really existed in the world at that moment.

I stood there because in that moment I understood what it meant to be an American, what it meant to be part of this great society that we live in. So I stared until the bus drove by the end of my driveway, me not on it. Then I walked back up the hill to my house and got a ride to school.

September 11, 2012

Today there is a lot of criticism about America, the response to the attacks, our position in the world...and all of that has it's place. This is, afterall, America. Freedom of speech is protected by our First Amendment.

But September 11th every year should now be about remembering that feeling we got on September 11, 2001, the feeling we woke up with on September 12th, 2001. The pride of being an American, the strength, unity, and freedom that we all had inherently because we are Americans.

And so here is what I want people to know about America, based on what I've seen and experienced over the past 21 years of my life:

• America is diverse; we have people from all walks of life living in the same communities. Some times this has not gone as well as we'd like to admit, but we're all still part of the same America.
• It hasn't always been easy being America. People love us, people hate us (and I'm talking the same people as who love us hate us). We are criticized for what we do and what we don't. People love our pop culture and people resent our dominance (insert whatever kind of inflection you want on dominance)
• We aren't perfect. We spend too much time butting heads over the little things so some of the more important things aren't dealt with. Our history is riddled with people who have made mistakes.
• The American Dream is still very much a thing. A lot of people define the American dream as becoming rich and doing really well for your family. This simply is not the case as far as I understand it. The American dream is about living a happy, successful life in whatever way you so choose (as long as it doesn't hurt other people, of course)
• This is a beautiful country with many great things to offer. From scenic views to great opportunities, to some of the most amazing people ever, America has endless possibilities. You just have to take the initiative to find what it is that you want.
• Many of us do travel the world without wanting to simply spread American culture. It might seem like we are always imposing and Americanizing our way into or out of things, but this simply isn't true. At least not for all of us.
• I'm really glad we didn't take Washington's advice to stay out of foreign affairs. The international experiences I've had would not have been the same without the influence, however big or small, the society has had from America.

So that's it. This is my America & I love it in all it's glory and failures. I understand that it's not perfect and not everyone can live within the societal constructs of America. But I'm pretty sure that most people could find a way to make do just fine.

Now, stop hating on all the things you think America has done wrong for just one day and take pride in the fact that you have been granted the opportunity to even express your opinion. That is what this day should really be about.