Big Red Car here. Valentine’s Day is creeping up on us. Better go get your sweetie something nice.
Do it today so you don’t forget.
As an American muscle car and a naturally great lover, I — me the Big Red Car, not The Boss — want to express my love for America. And not a cross word in the process.
Hey, America, I love you. So, here’s my personal Valentine’s Day love letter to America. Let me tell you why I love you, America.
Founding Fathers
There is nothing as great about America as knowing our parentage. As a Big Red Car, I really don’t know where I came from. I just know that I came out of Detroit with a set of sweet pipes in 1966, 47 years ago. I love working with The Boss but — who’s my real Daddy? Hell, I just don’t know. Need some psychiatric couch time on that one.
America, you were founded by some of the greatest chaps to have ever walked the earth. George Washington, the Father of our Nation. He was a big tall guy — hehe, you know a Big Red Car is going to love a Big Tall Guy. He was a rugged man capable of leading in battle and gently growing crops.
His personal example leading the Continental Army was the key to victory. His military genius — Battle of Trenton, ya’ll — was incredible. Read about his genius as a legendary crisis manager.
America got the deep end of the gene pool. So many I cannot list them all.
The American Revolution
Not only did America have a great bunch of Founders, it fought and won the most improbable fight against the most powerful nation on Earth, the world’s most powerful army and navy and the most experienced military leaders.
Pretty tight draw on those cards.
And, yet, the Americans fought it through and won on the battlefield against the most improbable odds imaginable. The idea of America imbued them with an indomitable spirit that propelled them to victory. It is the idea of America that drove the victory.
America was born at the tip of a bloody bayonet wielded by an extraordinary group of people who risked, literally, everything they had. For an idea.
The Big Idea of America
The whole idea of America as captured in its organizational documents — the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights — is extraordinary. This was a country that was designed to be great but more importantly to be good.
It was and continues to be the BIG IDEA — the idea so large as to be unimaginable unless you have about 237 years of it under your belt. Then it just becomes the norm.
America is the biggest idea ever conceived and made to work and continues to be the brightest light on the planet. May it ever be so.
People
The people, the people, the people, you people. You beautiful American people. I love all of you. Even you misguided souls who root for Duke basketball.
America’s greatest strength is the strength of its hardworking, ambitious and generous people.
We are the best of all cultures. A nation of immigrants. A lovely gumbo spiced with the ingredients of the genius of every culture that has flowed through Ellis Island.
Not diluted but strengthened by that zesty, spicy diversity. Long may it be so.
There is no more generous population on the Earth. So much so that folks in the world envy us simply being born or living in an American zip code. They hate us for our goodness.
The only country in the world where folks will routinely risk their personal safety to come here and to mingle with and become part of our people.
May it ever be so. God bless you, you lucky and happy Americans.
Capitalism
Capitalism is the worst system in the world until it is compared to all the others. Capitalism has delivered the highest standard of living enjoyed by any nation on earth.
This notion — that if you work hard, save your money, invest wisely — has liberated the yearnings of all of our fabulous people. That education can provide a better life for you and your family. That you can provide a better life for your family through your own hard work.
Capitalism is what has delivered the American Dream to all of us.
Freedom
It is so basic as to be transparent and almost unnoticeable — we are a FREE country, a FREE people and we see it in every aspect of our national and personal lives.
This universal freedom — part of the Big Idea that is America — was designed into the DNA of the nation by our Founding Fathers. It did not require centuries to evolve, it was writ large on day one and even before the ink was dry on the Constitution we were a nation of free people and it has always been so.
As a free people, we have changed governments at the ballot box and not with tanks in the streets. Our very freedoms are universally guaranteed and honored by the peaceful change of government for going on 300 years. The longest standing democracy (OK, representative republic) ever. The world champs.
Fairness
America is a fair country and its people are fair. We are fair to each other. We are fair to the world. We are inherently fair.
This fairness is the outgrowth of freedom. We have the freedom to be fair.
Savior of the world
In the darkest hours of the world in the last century, America rode to the world’s rescue leveraging its industrial capacity, its treasure, its blood to make things right when evil had reared it ugly head. Our batting average thus far is quite good.
We are the world’s cop but we are really the protector of all mankind. The steward of goodness. The purveyor of safety.
It is the penultimate measure of America’s exceptionalism, its goodness, the fairness of its wonderful people, our generosity of spirit and the basic recognition that evil must not be allowed to prevail which makes us both suited by temperment but also responsible enough to undertake that daunting challenge.
We will continue to be, God willing, the best hope for mankind. Long may it be so.
America, I love you — you great big wonderful beautiful dream and reality.
Bing%20Crosby%20God%20Bless%20America%201939.mp3
But, hey, what the Hell do I know? I’m just a Big Red Car — but an All American Big Red Car and don’t you forget that.
Happy Valentine’s Day, America. I LOVE YOU!
how many countries are we bombing, just today, six? what is our propensity for meddling in the affairs of others? why do we support dictators in some countries yet use the rubric of democracy to take out others? why do we legalize bribery under the guise of “campaign donations”? why are certain subjects simply not allowed to be talked about in national political campaigns? do you ever think that america is a one-party state, with two factions giving the illusion of “choice” to keep the public pacified? why is our education system so bad? why is television so banal? what is the reason for the pressures of political correctness in thought and action, so narrow compared to the rest of the world? why is there so much fear about “terrorism”? why do we increasingly have secret laws, secret interpretations of those laws, plea bargain manipulation of the justice system … on and on
your post is sweet, and perhaps from a similar era as the big red car .. though in that era, we couldn’t even accept other races into the american club and were dropping chemicals and tons of bombs onto asians.
at this point i see some plus points for america, the freedom of information act is wonderful, even if so much is redacted, and torture is not routinely practiced in prisons, though we have the most prisoners in the world …
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gregorylent —
The Big Red Car is going to have to do something to lighten your mood. Lighten up.
I can’t decide whether to sponsor you for charm school or rehab?
BRC
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too bad that several of those in power don’t actually believe and practice the words you typed. Actually, it’s more than several. It’s many. We have reached the point where government is reaching the Toqueville standards of meddling in each and every part of our life. They have figured out that they can pay themselves with welfare, and pay themselves with lifelong government jobs and pensions. Sum those two and you get way more than 47%.
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We have created a society in which we may literally smother the American Dream. Not the idea of the American Dream but its easy application and expectation.
In its place, we will erect a dark dream of a life of dependence — not too bad a life given food stamps, welfare, unemployment, disability and taxes that pay you not to work. All led by some folks who say this is “your due” and we can just take it from the doers.
I am however optimistic that we can get it right soon. We need some growth. Old fashioned growth.
JLM
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