As a progressive, I believe that there is still fundamental progress to be made in many areas in the United States, including gay rights, religious tolerance, environmental care, worldwide conflict resolution, and so on. As such, most of my writing on this blog and elsewhere tends to focus on what we could do better. I don’t often dwell on the positives or on the rights, privileges, and benefits that I take for granted. I don’t think I’m alone among liberals in this focus. Too often, progressives in the United States seem to avoid affirming our country, I think partly in fear of seeming jingoistic or nationalistic, and partly because we don’t see the point. What’s the good of sitting around talking about past accomplishments when there’s still work to be done “perfecting our union?” Although I’ve fallen into that trap myself, I think it’s shortsighted. Why should liberals hand over the right to conservatives to acknowledge the positives of our country? For one thing, it’s thanks to progressives that most of these benefits exist! In this spirit, and in this momentous week, here are ten things I appreciate about living in the United States.
1. Religious freedom. We have true religious freedom, enshrined in the first amendment to the constitution. And as much as I complain about encroachment on the separation of church and state, I have never personally been discriminated against because of my minority religious practices or beliefs (or lack thereof), I don’t have to pay taxes to support a state church that I don’t attend, and I am not compelled to participate in any religious observance in which I am not interested. Many United States immigrants, including some of my ancestors, came to the US in part to escape religious persecution in other countries. And while this country has not always been as religiously tolerant as it should, we have greater religious freedom here than in almost any country in the world.
2. Clean water. This is one of those things that most of take for granted, but 1.1 billion people in the world have inadequate access to clean water.
3. Due process and other rights of the legal system. With four of the ten amendments in the bill of rights devoted to the legal system, it’s clear that our founding fathers put a priority on these rights. I appreciate living in a country where I can’t be arrested and thrown in jail indefinitely without “due process of law” or suffer any of the other brutal and unfair legal practices so common in the world.
4. High-quality health care. We have pretty amazing health-care in this country, of which my family and I have certainly taken advantage, from preventative care to medications to precision surgeries. I am particularly grateful for the safe births of my two children, and for the surgical intervention to fix a congenital problem of my son when he was five months. Now if only this health care could be accessible and affordable for everyone…
5. Natural resources. There are myriad beautiful parts of this country, including Pikes Peak, which is visible from my office window. I enjoy camping, hiking, and other outdoor activities, and am pleased that our environmental stewardship has created the national and state parks systems, and left so much of this country natural and unspoiled.
6. Freedom of speech. Not only can anyone write and publish material that other people might deem offensive, and that would be banned in other countries, but anyone can criticize our elected leaders, including our president. I’ve definitely appreciated that over the past eight years, and I’m sure I’ll have the opportunity (though hopefully less frequently) to criticize our new president as well.
7. Safety. Although I realize this isn’t true for everyone in the US, I am grateful that I can go about my life without generally worrying about violence intruding. I appreciate both our domestic public safety officers and our military for maintaining this safety. Millions of people around the world must deal with horrific violence on a daily basis, so I try not to take this privilege for granted.
8. Government-subsidized educational system. I am grateful that education is free through high school, that college (through the community college system) is available for all who desire it, and that high-quality state universities are highly subsidized. Many children in the world don’t have any schools to go to, let alone this kind of access to universities. Additionally, I benefited both from public education, through high school, and a private university, and appreciate that both systems co-exist.
9. Equal rights for women. In some countries, women are not permitted to pursue certain occupations, or cannot even go outside without being accompanied by a man. Although there is, of course, still sexism and differing expectations for men and women among some people in this country, we’re doing pretty well, both historically in the world and compared to the current treatment of women in many other countries. I realize that this is incredibly trite to say, but I really do appreciate this more now that I have a daughter.
10.Technology. To end on a lighter note, I like my computers, mobile phone, ipod, cars, dishwasher, garbage disposal, and so on. Although, as Sarah points out, technology doesn’t inherently lead to a better world, I’d rather have it than not. And the affordable technology many of us take for granted in the US is out of the reach of many people around the world.
Tags: , bill of rights, clean water, due process, freedom of speech, Health Care, liberal, national parks, progressive, religious freedom, Separation of Church and State, state parks
