There's no denying that our country isn't exactly experiencing the best of times. Here, though, is the fascinating and miraculous thing about US. We can be in the middle of sluggish and unclear wars, frustrating and nerve-wracking recessions, and a bitterly divisive political climate...but when Independence Day rolls around, or the World Cup, or the Olympics...well, then, I can't imagine a people more enthusiastic about their homeland than we are. It seems that the worse things are, the better we as a people become at recognizing what we DO have.
This weekend, obviously, I couldn't help but think about what it is that makes me grateful to be an American citizen. Thankfully I was provided with a few examples:
Barbecue. Simple as that.
School pride. Nowhere else in the world will an alma mater be all it takes for you to bond with a complete stranger.
Sweet tea on screened in porches. This one might be a little regional, but it's still absolutely American.
Road trips, playlists, convenience store junk food.
Country music. Sometimes it can drive me crazy, but this weekend the combo of a porch swing, a cold beer, and Garth Brooks singing Callin' Baton Rouge on the stereo was sheer perfection.
A bunch of young kids on a boat at dusk in Alabama, waiting on the fireworks show to start and entertaining themselves by blasting and singing along with No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn.
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