America's Greatness

What makes America great?

Its not the symbols.  The flag, the National Anthem, the other symbols of America might reflect its greatness but they certainly don't make it great.

Its not the climate or location, We have wonderful natural resources here but I don't think they have made us great.  It not our language, other countries speak it.

The thing that is the greatness of America is its promise.

You can call it the American Dream although I think American Dreams might be more appropriate.  The simple idea that you can achieve your desires and live life the way you want to is the true essence of it.

Throughout our existence we have been the lure for immigrants who couldn't improve themselves or live life the way they wanted.  Land of opportunity, land of freedom and land of hope.

If we lose those we will lost the essence of America and we will no longer be great.  We don't need to be great again, we need to continue to be great.

Since our very early days we have been a hodgepodge of nations and people who were outcasts in their own countries.  Whether voluntarily or involuntarily we had English, Africans, Dutch, Swedes, French and Spanish residents as well as, of course Native Americans.

We had a big open country and everyone who find a way to get here was basically welcome and we had waves of immigrants, first from Western Europe and Africa, then Eastern Europe and Asia.  As we expanded we acquired additional French and Spanish residents via purchase or conquest.

Not everyone was treated equally, and some were treated as less than human but we had one great equalizer, the ability to move somewhere else where things might be better.  We expanded and filled up the Ohio territories, the Louisiana purchase, Texas and the southwest at breakneck speed considering, chasing opportunity and freedom.  We endured hardships and inflicted hardships in doing so and for many it didn't turn out well, but we pursued these opportunities and chased them, not just with immigrants but also with our native born citizens.

This has never stopped, there have been large movements of people in every age from farm to city, from city to suburb,from the south to the industrialized north, from the rust belt to the sun belt and always movement to California.

It is what unified us to some extent as a people and allowed us to be great because of this ongoing diversity and churn.  In each period we had people resisting the continued influx of immigrants and even the internal movement of our own citizens.  However it continued and it has led to this great country.

It is why we are a beacon of hope to the world and to try and stop it is, well, Un-American.