HBO's television series "The Newsroom" presented an intense, hard-hitting monologue by actor Jeff Daniels on why America his character Will believes isn't the greatest country in the world anymore. Here's what he says:
"It's NOT the greatest country in the world, Professor. That's my answer. ... And with a straight face, you're going to tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome, that we're the only ones in the world that have freedom? Canada has freedom. Japan has freedom. The UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia, BELGIUM has freedom. So 207 sovereign states in the world, like 180 of 'em have freedom. ... There is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we're the greatest country in the world. We're 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income, number 4 in labor force and number 4 in exports. We lead the world in only three categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined, 25 of whom are allies. ... First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore. Enough?"
Now how's that for an argument?
The first time I saw this video clip, an acquaintance of mine from high school had shared it on Twitter. The caption said something along the lines of "Bruh, he be spittin' truth." Pretty soon after that, I saw it shared again, and again, and again, until eventually I was pretty sure I had the whole monologue memorized word for word.
With what's been going on lately in the world - terrorist attacks, massacres, rape, natural disasters, abuse, poverty, politics, racism - it's easy to start losing pride in our country. When the country was faced with the realization that Trump and Hillary are the two main runners for the 2016 presidential election, Google said that the search "How do I move to Canada" spiked to an all-time high. In my Junior year of high school, my U.S. History teacher taught us from the perspective that we are the reason for the wars we were involved in, that we were always at fault, and that we were lying to ourselves if we believed our country was as great as we say it is. Liberals, conservatives, whites, blacks, young and old alike are starting to pay attention to and agree with what Will from "The Newsroom" stated. Maybe we aren't so star-spangled awesome anymore.
Darby Hennessey from The Odyssey said this: "Let’s admit it: America can be a not-so-great place sometimes. From negative media publicity to celebrity and political scandals and more, it can be hard to be a proud American on occasion."
So why should we keep putting our hands on our hearts and saying the pledge of allegiance in schools? Why should we celebrate our nation's independence every year with fireworks so loud that Canada can't sleep? Why should we keep being proud Americans when there is so much to not be proud of?
Because we're free. Simple as that.
Nevermind that other countries have freedom too. Nevermind that other countries have easier access to health-care. Nevermind that other countries have stricter (or more flexible) immigration laws. Nevermind that other countries are more eco-friendly. Nevermind that other countries have more affordable education. I'm not trying to claim that America is the greatest country in the world. Everyone knows we have faults, and we make mistakes, and we have plenty of bad to go around. But we are still free.
Free to worship whatever or whomever we choose. Free to say what we think and free to do as we say. We are free to decide our future. We are free to act. We are free to believe, and we are free to not believe. We are free to choose to be proud of this country or not.
This time of the year, we celebrate our independence as a nation. We celebrate the sacrifice and dedication and sweat and tears our forefathers gave to provide us with this land. We remember the bondage we were in before this nation came to be, the bondage we put the slaves in after this nation came to be, the inequality we created between man and women, black and white, rich and poor. We celebrate how far we have come since then. We celebrate the wars we have won, the friendships we have created, the lessons we have learned, and the knowledge we have gained. We celebrate the soldiers who have risked everything to protect us and our freedom. We celebrate our country, for the good and for the bad. We remember God's promise to us that if we will remember our blessings and serve Him, we will prosper.
"If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife,
I'd thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away.
And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land. God bless the U.S.A."
This Independence Day, may we all remember why we celebrate. May we remember the suffering we've experienced and may we remember the victories we've had. May we show more gratitude to those who protect us and serve us. May we love each other a little more, accept each other a little more fully, and treat each other with a little more respect.
May we all find a new sense of pride, patriotism, and gratitude for the wonderful blessing it is to be free, and to be an American, despite the bad.
Happy Fourth of July.
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