Loving America

So I was over reading Michelle Malkin's post from last night about "Ted" Ali Chammout -- some domestic Islamic terrorist (but that's kind of redundant, don't you think?) - and I really didn't get past the first line before this popped into my head.

Almost everyone who is an American citizen, and many who live here but are not -- claims to "Love America".

And yet if you polled a cross section of them on what America is, they'd all have different answers. And that, I believe, is because a huge chunk of them have a much different idea of what America "is". Probably a little more to the point, they love not what America "is", but what they think America should be (and often they think that's what America "is".)

Most of these people will start by saying they love America because we're "free". And yes, that's the idea.

But then they'll go on about the right to health care, the right to be protected from -- whatever: hurricanes, poverty, sheer cliffs, wet floors, trans-fats, being offended ...

Being offended... Unless you're white, or male or Christian, and especially if you're all three. Any two of those can easily get you dismissed from an argument these days. And what are those traits? Why I believe they are race, sex, and creed.

America was an idea where people were free to work as hard, or as little -- as they like, to make the most of themselves or make nothing at all. They could associate with (or not associate with) whomever they pleased, as long as those being assoicated with were amenable to the association (but that was to mainly be worked out by potential associates). They could speak their minds and defend themselves, worship as they wished, and elect their own leaders. All of this while being as free as possible from government interference with their goals, and an adequate framework for the rule of law.

Today we're looking at speech codes, limits on what can be said, sung, or displayed in public places, forcing employers to hire people they may not want to hire, trying to force them to pay for the health care of their employees, trying to force them to pay so much or not hire at all.