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America: Love Her And Cut The Criticism

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By LUIS LOPEZ

Special to the Tribune

Published: May 18, 2008

What is right with America?

For more than a year and a half, this country has been under attack from the political process. Political adversaries striving to be our next president have spent millions of dollars telling you why they are the best candidates. But during that process, they have been telling us what is wrong with America and how they can fix it.

They are focusing on the negative.

I don't know about you, but I am tired of the constant America-bashing. I am tired of these people telling me they love America. Their actions say otherwise - especially by those who never served in our military but proclaim to know how to lead it.

Many who bash America have never lived in other countries where there is no true freedom, especially to worship as you please. They have never lived in countries where women are property and are not allowed to be educated or seek a job.

These people have never seen a system of justice where you do not have a right to an attorney or the right to remain silent.

How many of you have lived in a country where it is illegal to be a Christian, where the punishment for worship is death?

Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guard serve around the world and sacrifice their lives for our freedoms that some take for granted. We must stop this America-bashing and look at what is right in America.

As an American who served in the Air Force for 20-plus years and fought for our beloved freedom, I have come to realize many things about our country.

First, I love everything the Statue of Liberty stands for - the individual liberty I wake up to each morning. I love the Bill of Rights, the noblest document ever written. I love the concepts of free speech, absolute privacy and religious freedom embodied in our Constitution and many traditions.

I love the rule of law, where I have the right to confront my accusers, have an attorney, remain silent, and speak my mind and worship as I please.

These are just some of the things that have made America unique.

I love America, the one symbolized by the Statue of Liberty, the beacon of liberty, providing light, hope and inspiration to the entire world. If America were such a terrible place, why would foreign citizens struggle to reach our shores?

Why love her? Have you seen a sunset in Key West or the morning rain off The Pier in St. Petersburg?

Have you drifted on a canoe on Crystal River? Have you watched a cold fog drifting over the rolling hills of east Pasco County? Have you heard a Florida panther calling in the pines, or the mating call of a mockingbird?

Does the call of white, sandy beaches thrill you when you hear her surf roar? Do you look with awe and wonder at the majesty of shores where the manatees are?

Have you ever wondered why every soldier snaps to attention and salutes the American flag when it passes? Have you seen the look of honor on the face of the American soldier? Have you ever wondered why we honor our fallen soldiers with such dignity and respect?

Think about it, and you will see that America is truly blessed.

When we salute our flag, we do more than it appears. We honor our history and those who died to defend her.

Ever wonder why the flag is red, white and blue? White signifies purity and innocence. Red signifies valor and bravery. Blue signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice.

Why stars and stripes? Stars are considered a symbol of the heavens; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun.

For those dissenters within our borders who feel America is broken, that America is the enemy, that she is what is wrong with the world, remember, there is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with her.

America is much more than a geographical location; it is a political and moral beacon. America is the first community of people where men set out to institutionalize the concepts of freedom, responsible government and human equality.

John F. Kennedy once said: "The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender or submission."

The writer is a youth counselor and Zephyrhills city councilman.

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