America Is Being Destroyed By Her Own Values

This Fourth of July, our independence and individualism are destroying the country.

Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

Growing up, I was taught that America was the “best country in the world”.

My grandfather, saying a prayer for Thanksgiving dinner, would thank God for making him an American by birth. No other country has what we had, he would say, eyes up to the Lord. No other country had freedom from persecution, equality for all, rugged individualism to carve your own path, or freedom of speech, like we did. God chose our country. God instilled our values.

I believed him.

I would look forward to our family’s Fourth of July celebrations every year — festivities on the shores of Lake Toxaway in North Carolina — the ultimate expression of our American values. I would wake up early and paint my face red, white, and blue. My aunts and uncles would dress up as American icons like the Statue of Liberty or Uncle Sam. And, obviously, fireworks. It wouldn’t be the Fourth of July without fireworks.

Those nights, as my brothers and I gleefully tossed firecrackers in the air — oohing and ahhing as they sparkled like faeries dancing — we had pride in our country. Real, true, patriotic ‘Murican Pride.