A Place For People
One of the unique things about America is that it has been pretty much built from scratch in the last three hundred years. We came to this country as pilgrims and immigrants. As we spread across the country, we built cities, roads, schools and all of the other things that a great civilization must have.
A Place For People - 757 words
A Sense Of Duty
Around the world it seems that those who observe the way America works don’t understand what makes Americans so committed to the causes they support. Whether it is in America’s own internal matters or in how we approach the world, there is no question that the way we deploy our vast resources is often confusing and perplexing to people who don’t understand the American mind.
A Sense Of Duty - 732 words
America’s Amazing Cities
What is so great about America? When I ask that question, the first thing that springs to mind might be the mountains of Colorado or the towering skyscrapers in our biggest metropolises. And its true that even in the minds of Europeans or other cultures around the world, America’s cities are the envy of the world.
America’s Amazing Cities - 594 words
American Music
America has some outstanding exports that we supply to the world. Our farmers are so efficient at producing food that it could be said that we feed the world. And in terms of high technology, the world looks to America to lead the way and we do so very well indeed.
American Music - 673 words
Americans Against Aids
Throughout the history of America, this country has a proud history of banding together when a dire threat is posed to our citizens. We do have our internal struggles just as any vibrant and living community will have. But when a common enemy threatens our citizens, we do become a family and we will fight like tigers against any enemy that would threaten our countrymen. And it doesn’t matter if that enemy is human or some other form of threat, we take care of our own here in America.
Americans Against Aids - 601 words
America’s Courageous Soldiers
Throughout the decades of America’s history, those brave young men and women who have served valiantly in America’s armed forces have proven time and time again to be the most courageous military of all time. The kind of valor that these amazing young people have demonstrated in battlefields all across the globe is truly inspiring.
America’s Courageous Soldiers - 611 words
Coast To Coast
The history of America, particularly in the times of the wild west is rich with imagery and mythology. One of the great images we often see reenacted is that moment when the two cross continental railway lines hooked up in the middle of the country and were joined with one silver railway spike. That moment was so significant because it was symbolic that by linking one end of America to the other, we were no longer a spread out wilderness but truly one unified country.
Coast To Coast - 743 words
Dancing On The Moon
One of the things about America that dazzles, infuriates and fascinates the rest of the world is our ability to do what has never been done before. In fact, Americans seem to do it with the ease of making toast. There is a mystic to America and to being an American that makes the rest of the world marvel and jealous at the same time. That is why around this world of ours, America is despised sometimes but more often copied, emulated and envied.
Dancing On The Moon - 704 words
Dreams Of Greatness
A famous quote of the artist Warhol tells us that in the future everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes. Warhol was well known for having a highly insightful understanding of the American mind and using it in his art. And this quote hit a cord with many people for a lot of reasons.
Dreams Of Greatness - 639 words
Finding God In America
As much as sometimes it doesn’t seem to be that way, America is one of the most religious countries in the world. Our robust culture which is as often very secular might give the wrong impression. Because at the heart of what makes the American people tick is their deep religious feelings and devotion to God and their places of worship.
Finding God In America - 626 words
Friends From Enemies
The way that America relates to other nations is entirely unique in foreign relations history. But that is not surprising because America is unique in every possible way. Just as America devised a totally new way for the government to be accountable to it’s people, the way that government handles relationships with other countries reflects that unique blend of democratic and republican values in governing.
Friends From Enemies - 750 words
From Einstein To Bill Gates
One of the many benefits that a free society gives to its citizens is the freedom of intellectual curiosity and the freedom of those who are gifted with true genius to find out how God would have them make their contribution to society. Many societies have made tremendous scientific breakthroughs across history. But the scope and power of the kinds of genius that America has been able to produce dwarfs anything our contemporary countries have been able to do or even anything in history.
From Einstein To Bill Gates - 650 words
Growing Together
The measure of any great nation is how well it can adapt and change to the needs of its people. One of the things that Americans wanted to be sure was part of the very core of the American way of life is that we would strive together to make life better for all of us, not just a select few.
Growing Together - 708 words
Hurting When They Hurt
It is sad to say but in the last few years, we have had more than our share of opportunities to witness the devastation of tragedy, storms and catastrophes that have come upon mankind. From 911 to Katrina to the Tsunami to dozens of other floods, famines, earthquakes and other natural disasters, disasters of a phenomenal proportion have happened to people all around the world.
Hurting When They Hurt - 639 words
Planning The Revolution
The American system of government is easily the most innovative and successful applications of democracy and the republic in the history of the world. Our government takes a lot of criticism because sometimes the process we go through to bring new leaders into the government becomes contentious. But the genius that went into the organization and fundamental principles of how our government works was nothing short of revolutionary.
Planning The Revolution - 714 words
Poets And Revolutionaries
The real test of a free society is the extent to which it allows within its borders the sometimes eccentric and often disturbing presence of poets and artists. That is what you notice if you read about totalitarian societies that want to clamp down on free speech and make everybody think the same way. The first areas to receive heavy censorship if not complete shut down are the arts, philosophy, theater and political, religious and philosophical dialog.
Poets And Revolutionaries - 674 words
Powerful But Wise
In the history of the world, there has never been an army as powerful as that of the United States of America. This has never been so dramatically demonstrated as it was when we ended a world war with the dropping of a few bombs over Japan. When those nuclear weapons exploded over Japan, the world gasped and stepped back and realized that America was a serious force to be respected.
Powerful But Wise - 706 words
Stopping A Monster
The thing that is always true about a great people of any time or place is that they will stand up for great things. But more than that, they will stand up against a great evil when called upon to do so. There is really only one word that summarizes this phenomenal trait that makes a difference between a great people and mediocre one. And that word is “courage”.
Stopping A Monster - 724 words
Stubborn As A Mule
The character of the American personality is simultaneously one of the most celebrated and envied and disliked personalities in the world. There is something so tremendously different about Americans that cannot be replicated in any other culture in the world. The Australian bawdiness, love of adventure and fun comes close but it doesn’t approach the subtleties that make Americans so unique as a people. The English temperament of humor, fussiness and perfectionism also is a good reflection of what it is to be an American. But still there is something that sets us apart even from our English, Australian, Scottish and Irish cousins that makes us the same and yet different from those cultures.
Stubborn As A Mule - 641 words
The American Dream
America is unlike any other nation in the history of the world. When you think of those historic words written by Emma Lazarus that are on the Statue of Liberty, they summarize wonderfully the amazing history of this great nation.
The American Dream - 747 words
The Envy Of The World
Every country has a culture. When we think of “culture” we think of the exotic dress and rituals of ancient China or Japan. Or we might think of England or Scotland with their quirky approach to food, dress and customs. Or we might think of the music of Africa or the Caribbean or the alluring appeal of South America. As Americans we are endlessly fascinated with the cultures of the world.
The Envy Of The World - 723 words
The Great American Experiment
There is a tremendous reverence and respect for the founding fathers of America in our country. These brave and brilliant men forged a constitution and made a reality a new nation that was more than just another new country. It was and is a country the likes of which has never been seen on earth before.
The Great American Experiment - 709 words
The Heart Of American Charity
There is something very unique about the heart of what it is to be an American that results in Americans being the most charitable people in the world. That is not just a generous exaggeration. Documented studies have shown conclusively that Americans give far more to charity and to help out their fellow man in times of trouble than any other private citizenry in the world. Just consider these statistics.
The Heart Of American Charity - 641 words
The Melting Pot
England is full of Englishmen. France is full of Frenchmen. Italy is full of Italians and Russia is full of Russians. So what is America populated by? This little mental exercise points out one of the amazing things about the way America was envisioned by the forefathers. When you think about it, America stands out as most unique of all the nations of the world because we are not the homeland of an ethnic people. Now, we do have our ethnic population in the form of the American Indian native population which we value and prize as much as any population that lives here. But “America” as a nation is remarkable not for the dominance of one ethnic group but for the lack of one ethnic group that defines what it is to be American.
The Melting Pot - 583 words
The Purple Mountain Majesties
There are just a few songs about America that truly do a good job of capturing the sense of awe and reverence the citizens of this country have or should have about their beloved country. But of them all, America the Beautiful does the job beautifully. When one travels across this great land, it is impossible not to be reminded of those beautiful words…
The Purple Mountain Majesties - 640 words