Happy Fourth!

Having moved back recently to my homeland of Singapore (with my beautiful American wife and son!), I look back with fond memories to my years in the U.S.  I am grateful to America for giving me the opportunity to study within her borders, to enjoy for ten years a little of the American dream, and of course, to be blessed by the friendships I’ve made.  America never ceases to amaze me.  Such an open, generous, gracious, and justice-hungry land.  I continue to stand with her.  I continue to believe that she is a force for good in this world.  To whom will the other justice-hungry people of the world look for aid?  To whom will nations flock to taste freedom and learn how to live as free people?  America is not the Kingdom of God.  There is much in her that is dark, twisted, misshapened, and evil.  But at the same time, something of our Lord’s kingdom shines in that land, a flicker of the realm of sunlight and justice to come.  I hope that America never loses its sense of purpose.  She was made to set people free.  She was made for justice and liberty for all.

Twelve Reasons to Love the U.S.A., VIII

“8.  America is a world leader in scholarship and invention.  The United States is home to the world’s finest collection of universities and research institutions.  Name just about any subject–from ancient philosophy to quantum physics–and chances are good that leading authorities work here.  The record of American inventions and discoveries goes on and on, from the mechanical reaper to the microchip.  American medical research facilities are among the best in the world.  The United States leads the world in space exploration.  The computer revolution started here.” — William J. Bennett, The American Patriot’s Almanac, p.35.

Twelve Reasons to Love the U.S.A., VII.

“7.  The U.S. military is the greatest defender of freedom in the world.  Twice in the twentieth century, the United States led the way in saving the world from tyranny–first from the Axis Powers, then from Soviet totalitarianism.  Throughout history, other superpowers have used armies to conquer territory and build empires by force.  America, with its unrivaled military, has chosen a different course.  The United States has liberated more people from tyranny than any other nation in history.” — William J. Bennett, The American Patriot’s Almanac, p.35.

Twelve Reasons to Love the U.S.A.,VI

“6.  No other country has welcomed and united so many people from so many different shores.  From its beginnings, the U.S. has been the world’s great melting pot.  Never before have so many people from different backgrounds, races, nationalities, and religions lived and worked together so peacefully.  In no other nation has the spirit of cooperation and brotherhood accomplished more than it has in the United States.” — William J. Bennett, The American Patriot’s Almanac, p.34.

Twelve Reasons to Love the U.S.A., V.

“5.  We enjoy one of the world’s highest standards of living.  Americans live longer, have better health, and enjoy safer and more comfortable lives than the vast majority of the world’s people.  Ours is one of the most prosperous nations in history.  U.S. companies provide some of the best jobs in the world.  They have also built countless hospitals, libraries, and parks; created great universities; filled museums with works of art; found cures for diseases; and improved human life in countless ways.” — William J. Bennett, The American Patriot’s Almanac, p.34.

“America Does Not Do Its Share!”

“America…is consistently chastised within the economic development community of experts for not providing foreign aid to poor countries at a level commensurate with its wealth.  We are told, ‘The whole developed world is more generous than the United States.  America does not do its share!’  Somehow, the fact that America performs virtually all the Core’s combat interventions in the Gap counts far less than other countries simply sending money, or–better yet–peacekeepers after the fact.” — Thomas Barnett, The Pentagon’s New Map, p.359.

Twelve Reasons to Love the U.S.A., IV

“4.  This is the place where dreams can come true.  U.S. newspapers are full of stories that read almost like fairy tales: the son of a laborer who grows up to be a doctor, the stay-at-home mom who turns a hobby into a flourishing business, the immigrant who becomes a movie star and governor.  The United States has long been the country people flock to for the chance to make better lives.  No other country has built a sturdier ladder for people to climb to success.” – William J. Bennett, The American Patriot’s Almanac, p.34.

Twelve Reasons to Love the U.S.A., III

“3.  No other country has done a better job of establishing equal rights for all citizens.  Certainly there have been times when the United States has fallen tragically short of its founding principles.  But especially in recent decades, no country has worked harder to eliminate discrimination and protect the rights of minorities.   There are plenty of nations where people’s ethnicity, religion, or gender define them as second-class citizens.  In contrast, America has been a pioneer in striving toward the ideal that all are created equal.” — William J. Bennett, The American Patriot’s Almanac, p.34

Twelve Reasons to Love the U.S.A., II

“2.  America really is the land of the free.  There are large parts of the world where people can’t say what they think, learn what they’d like, or even dress the way they want.  There are places where people spend years in jail or disappear if they question their rulers.  Less than half of the world’s population lives in countries where people are truly free.  In this nation, as George Washington put it, the love of liberty is interwoven with every ligament of American hearts.” — William J. Bennett, The American Patriot’s Almanac, p.33.

Inauguration Day Thoughts

Neither my wife nor I supported Sen. Barack Obama in his pursuit of the presidential office.  We were supporters of the other guy (well, Romney at first).  But now that Sen. Obama is hours away from his inauguration, it behooves us to stand in support of him–not necessarily for his positions, but for the symbol that he has become.  The sight of an African American man ascending the most exalted office in this land of the free is a welcome vision.  At last, we who are Americans and allies of America can be proud and thankful of the fact that a segment of the country that has often found itself so haunted by the phantoms of a cruel and discriminatory past can stand tall and proud of their country at last.  They need not fear to call this country their own.  The election of Barack Hussein Obama is evidence to the world that the United States of America works hard to overcome its moral failings, and that it is still a land where justice throbs in the heart of many.  This, in the parlance of Christian theological talk, is common grace at work.  The rise of Sen. Obama to the office of president should stop the wagging lips of America’s critics and show that this nation is not as wretched or far gone as they think it is.  The U.S.A. still remains, in many respects, a model civilization.  A sort of city on a hill.

I have also found some of the conservative responses to Sen. Obama’s election encouraging and civilized. Consider these by Dennis Prager, David Horowitz, Mona Charen, and Ralph Peters for a start.  None of these people voted for Obama (at least not to my knowledge).  Yet they have responded with great civility and perhaps even a tinge of optimism.  We who call ourselves conservatives should not be sore losers.  We can lose with grace.  We can accept defeat with charity.  Especially if we believe that it is the Lord God himself who exalts and pulls down leaders.

So I wish–no, I pray–that Pres. Obama will succeed in his vocation as the leader of the world’s premier free nation.  The almighty God has called the governments of nations to pursue justice, punish evil, and preserve liberty.  My prayer is that Pres. Obama would do just these things.  I would most likely continue to disagree with him (assuming that he persists in them and that I continue not to see eye-to-eye with them).  However, I would strive to disagree  fairly.  After all, the ninth commandment also applies to the way we speak of our leaders.  What I do not want is a situation where anti-Obamaites can tell pro-Obamaites, ”I told you so.”  The wellbeing of our beloved country is too precious for that sort of partisanship. 

So may the Lord God guide this new leader in paths of wisdom and righteousness.  And may Pres. Obama continue to preserve the great American traditions of courage, justice, liberty, innovation, and generosity.