I’ve lived in a lot of places in America and beyond—one of the fringe benefits of a restless spirit and a chosen profession that’s allowed me to tell stories and make a living (more or less) wherever I went. Born in Chicago, went to college near Philadelphia, worked in Washington, DC, then near Pittsburgh, then London, England, then Norfolk, Virginia, then New York, Helsinki, Moscow, Los Angeles, and now Arizona. Each locale has had its own special qualities.
But for me, it was New York and LA that made me especially proud to be an American. Why? Because of the kaleidoscopic variety of people that were drawn there. They reminded me how America has been a magnet, a place of opportunity and dreams, and a place to escape some of the horrors that bedevil many other countries. (Detail: I love having many friends who speak English with accents evoking their countries of origin.)
It’s part of why these last four years have been so painful— the encouragement of white supremacy, the hostility toward diversity and immigrants, the repellant attitude toward refugees, the policies that turned off and scared away so many talented and hungry people from around the world. It’s part of why I remain so hopeful that we can one day soon become that alluring country again. Yes, a proud nation of immigrants.
What about you? Where do you find inspiration? What do you love about America? I’m looking forward to reading about your experiences and learning what moves you.
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I too love to travel, not just for seeing the famous sights, but to also find out how other cultures live, what’s important to the people living there, what they value and what they eat. I was born and raised in Phoenix. When I was growing up most of the people in Phoenix came here from the midwest and northern states.
I remember when the new school year started teachers asked how many of us were from Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, etc.
At the end of the inquiry the teacher would
point out that I did not raise my hand and ask me where I was from. When I said I was born in Phoenix, I may as well have said I was born on Mars!
When I was 20 I moved to the Houston area.
Initially I went to Houston because I had family there, but I stayed after they moved back to AZ. Compared to Phoenix there was a lot going on in Houston. For one thing there were large populations of Vietnamese immigrants there and I learned to love Vietnamese food.
While there over the next 20 years I learned to love Indian and Thai food as well. Houston was a much more cosmopolitan
city than Phoenix and it still is. Although I moved back to Phoenix after 20 plus years in Houston, I still miss the feel of living in
a more cosmopolitan atmosphere. If you’re open to it, the diversity of cultures enriches
I hope that President Biden's education initiative helps with diversity being perceived as a distinct societal positive. Not a coincidence that undereducated Bubbas may perceive that extending long-denied rights to minorities is somehow depriving then of something. No. Ireland '80s, Germany '30s.
Born at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in 56 I got to see great things: Dad's subs and ships jet planes flying over and on TV the X15, Gemini Apollo moon landings and Civil Rights Marches. Page in D.C. Computer programming in high school and in the Army, Germany and NATO, a Lithuanian girl friend, a wife 5 boys, 45 years in IT, paper tape to the internet. Hard not to see U.S. as Biden. Nothing we can't do.
Of course it took me several days to think of what I love about America that wasn’t too personal. Then it hit me. Something I was talking about with 2 of my vaxxed friends. We have experienced a great deal over the past few years. It has been scary, chaotic, unreal & shocking. But many of us, as Republicans, watched as every foundation we had believed in all our lives become something unspeakable. Speaking for myself, I floundered at first. I could not support anything the former President was saying. Sure I wrote slow mail letters to Sen. McCain, Sen. Graham & Paul Ryan begging them to keep 45 in check, but that wasn’t enough. @maddow had a segment on Indivisible & I joined & started protesting, never telling my new friends I was a Rep. Months later, about the only thing any of the Reps. said abt 45 was that he was unpresidential. More protests, more boycotts, more letters, postcards, phone calls. Then one afternoon on MSNBC, Steve Schmitz, a respected Republican, very subtly spoke out agst 45. BAM! So, I’m not crazy. My thoughts were valid. The look on Nicolle Wallace’s face as Schmitz was talking told me she too felt as Schmitz. Within 48 hours I had written a letter on our Indivisible FB page telling everyone that I was a Rep. but was agst everything 45 stood for. Everybody was welcoming & kind. Other Rep in my Indivisible group “came out” as Rep. as well. That started all of us, Dem, Ind. & Rep working together to encourage Reps to at least vote Dem in the 2018 midterms. We were on a mission. Bam, flipped the House. Ok, the next 2 years was just complete chaos educating every Rep. to vote 4 the Dem. candidate. Enter the Lincoln Project. I hate confrontation, but there was so much more at stake now. Our democracy was on the line. At one of the last group events before the election I looked up & realized the room was full of Reps. Dems, Ind. first time voters, BLM, all professions, religions, ethnic groups, education levels, etc. One group was writing out Biden postcards in Spanish for Latino voters. This was happening all over America. People from all backgrounds, beliefs & religions had organized, communicated to fight for this country. We had formed a coalition. Bipartisan is so yesterday. Biden has a coalition of voters in the US that turned out for him. He now needs a coalition in Congress. We need to rest up, shed those Covid pounds & stay informed for the midterms. That’s what I love about America. People came together, each doing what they knew best to reach a goal. Of course we were given lots of tools to work with through organizations & leaders like Stacy Abrams, Reps agst 45, MeidasTouch, etc. If Biden wasn’t enough, bam 2 mos. later, Georgia. I’m now a proud Dem. Moderate, of course. We must remain diligent. Trust, but verify. Believe in the Constitution & rule of law. And be kind to all our allies within this coalition. As we move forward together, always keep an eye out for the once Rep. American that needs direction. They could become part of our coalition!
diversity and democracy
I, too, love the diversity of America. I believe it’s where we draw our strength. It makes me sad to see the racism on display in our country today.
I too love to travel, not just for seeing the famous sights, but to also find out how other cultures live, what’s important to the people living there, what they value and what they eat. I was born and raised in Phoenix. When I was growing up most of the people in Phoenix came here from the midwest and northern states.
I remember when the new school year started teachers asked how many of us were from Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, etc.
At the end of the inquiry the teacher would
point out that I did not raise my hand and ask me where I was from. When I said I was born in Phoenix, I may as well have said I was born on Mars!
When I was 20 I moved to the Houston area.
Initially I went to Houston because I had family there, but I stayed after they moved back to AZ. Compared to Phoenix there was a lot going on in Houston. For one thing there were large populations of Vietnamese immigrants there and I learned to love Vietnamese food.
While there over the next 20 years I learned to love Indian and Thai food as well. Houston was a much more cosmopolitan
city than Phoenix and it still is. Although I moved back to Phoenix after 20 plus years in Houston, I still miss the feel of living in
a more cosmopolitan atmosphere. If you’re open to it, the diversity of cultures enriches
your life.
I love America. Thus my email is americanraj@hotmail.com
I hope that President Biden's education initiative helps with diversity being perceived as a distinct societal positive. Not a coincidence that undereducated Bubbas may perceive that extending long-denied rights to minorities is somehow depriving then of something. No. Ireland '80s, Germany '30s.
Born at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in 56 I got to see great things: Dad's subs and ships jet planes flying over and on TV the X15, Gemini Apollo moon landings and Civil Rights Marches. Page in D.C. Computer programming in high school and in the Army, Germany and NATO, a Lithuanian girl friend, a wife 5 boys, 45 years in IT, paper tape to the internet. Hard not to see U.S. as Biden. Nothing we can't do.
I'm good with diversity and democracy. I also like the diversity of things to do outdoors. Like this. https://www.instagram.com/p/COVoJikMwe1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Of course it took me several days to think of what I love about America that wasn’t too personal. Then it hit me. Something I was talking about with 2 of my vaxxed friends. We have experienced a great deal over the past few years. It has been scary, chaotic, unreal & shocking. But many of us, as Republicans, watched as every foundation we had believed in all our lives become something unspeakable. Speaking for myself, I floundered at first. I could not support anything the former President was saying. Sure I wrote slow mail letters to Sen. McCain, Sen. Graham & Paul Ryan begging them to keep 45 in check, but that wasn’t enough. @maddow had a segment on Indivisible & I joined & started protesting, never telling my new friends I was a Rep. Months later, about the only thing any of the Reps. said abt 45 was that he was unpresidential. More protests, more boycotts, more letters, postcards, phone calls. Then one afternoon on MSNBC, Steve Schmitz, a respected Republican, very subtly spoke out agst 45. BAM! So, I’m not crazy. My thoughts were valid. The look on Nicolle Wallace’s face as Schmitz was talking told me she too felt as Schmitz. Within 48 hours I had written a letter on our Indivisible FB page telling everyone that I was a Rep. but was agst everything 45 stood for. Everybody was welcoming & kind. Other Rep in my Indivisible group “came out” as Rep. as well. That started all of us, Dem, Ind. & Rep working together to encourage Reps to at least vote Dem in the 2018 midterms. We were on a mission. Bam, flipped the House. Ok, the next 2 years was just complete chaos educating every Rep. to vote 4 the Dem. candidate. Enter the Lincoln Project. I hate confrontation, but there was so much more at stake now. Our democracy was on the line. At one of the last group events before the election I looked up & realized the room was full of Reps. Dems, Ind. first time voters, BLM, all professions, religions, ethnic groups, education levels, etc. One group was writing out Biden postcards in Spanish for Latino voters. This was happening all over America. People from all backgrounds, beliefs & religions had organized, communicated to fight for this country. We had formed a coalition. Bipartisan is so yesterday. Biden has a coalition of voters in the US that turned out for him. He now needs a coalition in Congress. We need to rest up, shed those Covid pounds & stay informed for the midterms. That’s what I love about America. People came together, each doing what they knew best to reach a goal. Of course we were given lots of tools to work with through organizations & leaders like Stacy Abrams, Reps agst 45, MeidasTouch, etc. If Biden wasn’t enough, bam 2 mos. later, Georgia. I’m now a proud Dem. Moderate, of course. We must remain diligent. Trust, but verify. Believe in the Constitution & rule of law. And be kind to all our allies within this coalition. As we move forward together, always keep an eye out for the once Rep. American that needs direction. They could become part of our coalition!