Why America doesn't suck as much as some people claim

America sucks.

Every liberal knows that. The oligarchy, the one percent, the racism, the brutal cops, the gun deaths. All those toxic white American males! And look at all the problems beyond our borders. We caused them, you know. (Or else our client state on the Red Sea did). If not for America, all the world's people would be living in harmony as organic farmers.

So goes the meme. Anyone who waves the flag is a goddamn teabagger.

I am about to prove myself a terrible liberal. I am going to do the shocking: I will tell you why I love America.

(And I could go on forever, but here's a few reasons off the top of my head):

1) Here's a biggie: in the US men and women are governed by the same laws. Not only that, but society says women and men are pretty equal.

Is it perfect? Hell no - and I'm the first to notice sexism and misogyny here. But. Take a look around the world. In most places, being born a girl means I would live as a slave or eternal servant. Many if not most countries have different laws for women than for men. These cover Inheritance, divorce and child custody rights, citizenship of one's children, male right to polygamy; restrictions on what jobs a woman can do; what clothes she must wear, what forms of immorality or disobedience can get her a flogging or a prison sentence. And those are just the legislated impediments. Add culture and religion, and it gets way worse.

If you haven't noticed this, then start.

(2) In America, poor people have a chance.

(Yeah I know: you think they dont.)

My dad immigrated in his twenties speaking little english, went to night school; ended up with a PhD; now he's a crusty old retired fart who plays tennis and goes to Florida every winter. My mom, born in a housing project to illiterate immigrant parents, was the youngest of five and lost her dad at fourteen. Of the five: the first enlisted, the second married rich, and two others went to college on scholarships. All those four entered the middle class. (The one who didn't was schizophrenic.).

And no, its not just us. Plenty of people I work with are immigrants who have businesses or went to professional schools and are triumphing. Others are the kids and grandkids of desperate farmers - they will tell you that education and job opportunities (or sometimes the military) gave them a leg up. There are still plenty of poor people here - but even they do not starve or beg; they get free medical care; and most have money for non-essentials

(3) The "wretched refuse" thing actually means something to me. My mom's parents were Jews from Eastern Europe. Nuff said.

(4) Here, we are free to be weird.

Some cultures insist on conformity. Dress like you're told, marry who we choose for you; fit in or be cast out. If you don't test well enough to get into the college-prep high school, your future is decided at fourteen.

But here we take it for granted that we can defy tradition, move across the country, pick our friends, marry outside our own kind, drop out of school, then change our minds, then change our gender and start a rock band, the return to school at 40. Which is good. Because if we didn't have such flexible standards I and plenty of friends woulda been fucked a long time ago.

(5) Our minds are free.

(Oh, I know - you wanna jump in and tell me the MSM is a propaganda machine and the schools are all teaching creationism. Partly true, but we can all find other sources and read Darwin at the library).

Most of the world's people suffer far more mental straitjacketing. In some cases it's due to fundamentalism. In others to lack of basic political and media freedoms, or to lack of schooling, or a society that pushes coercive conformity and makes questioners pay a high price.

(6) we're trying.

Lemme tell you about my neighborhood. There's mixed-race couples at the park. There are men pushing strollers, some women in hijabs, and others in business suits, and a few who wear both hijabs AND business suits. At my workplace there are very out gay guys, and immigrants of all colors, and country people who are the first in their family to finish high school and leave the farm.

I don't live in Berkeley or Austin, but the middle of goddamn nowhere.

For all the claims of doom, I see beautiful things every day, and people living lives that would have been barred to them fifty years ago.


That's why whenever I see the "America sucks!" comments, I roll my eyes and think either "Freaking juvenile!" or "too spoiled to even see how good you've got it."

There ya go.
That's my statement.
Now go ahead and start screaming at me. I'm braced for the deluge.