America the Beautiful, thoughts on my home.

I’m a proud American. That comes as no surprise to anyone who knows me, and probably little surprise to anyone learning about me via this blog. I had a few conversations with people today about what makes the nation so amazing.

First the picture I have tonight is one of an American flag that I found laying on the side of the road. It’s an old flag that has seen better days. I was saddened to see it laying there. It stands for so much! And it is a symbol of a lot if good things. It hurts to see it laying on the side of the road. I picked it up and took it home.

Throughout the day, I had a few conversations about different aspects of America. The first was over lunch with a friend who considers herself a liberal. We discussed America as it is and where we ought go. What I got out of this discussion was that in this country we can have debates and we can have genuine disagreements and still be friends. It’s a beautiful thing to see that.

The next discussion was with my roommate who is an immigrant from India. We discussed the differences between America and India and how he loves America in the way that only an immigrant can. As much as I love America, there is probably no one who can love the country more than a real immigrant to this country. How beautiful is it that our home is built off immigrants in that truly unique American way?

The third discussion was with a friend who teaches in an English as a Second Language class. She told me about the stories she heard from her students, about their experience in the US versus their home, or why they came here, or why they’re learning English, or what they want to do with this gift of America. She posted one if her stories in her blog which you can se here. http://whynotsmiletoday.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/day-35-dramatization-by-the-ilp-am-class/ Hearing all those stories makes me love my home even more and makes me that much happier to be in this nation! It makes me understand the value and power of our flag even more. I can’t help but feel happy when I see all this.