- Jan 2, 2006
- 10,455
- 35
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It's hard to truly appreciate something unless one has experienced something inferior. The same can be said for governments.
I'm of Chinese ethnicity. When I left the USA 4 months ago to visit China I thought that the USA was just an incredibly average country. We have massive problems that seem infuriatingly unfix-able, and I was jaded with it all. After spending 4 months in China, and after reflecting back on the founding principles of the country, I only have this to say.
We must never stop fighting for the ideals of the USA.
1. We have such a good thing going. Our founding fathers were utterly selfless in their establishment of our nation. They truly did their best to create a nation of the people, FOR the people. NOT for themselves.
2. They voluntarily established terms limits, essentially making themselves jobless after a certain period of time.
3. They allowed the people to vote for who will be in power at a time when the country was weak and they could have easily taken power for themselves.
4. They were adamant that no one part of government can ever have too much power, so they set up a system of checks and balances, limiting their own powers.
5. They made us into a society of laws, where no one is above society's laws but everyone has the right to a trial and legal representation.
6. They gave us the right to say anything we want, print whatever we want, assemble how we want, practice whatever religion we want, and to petition the government for changes. They ingrained in us the spirit of "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
7. They gave us arms so that we could defend ourselves and ultimately protect ourselves from the very government they were establishing, should it ever come to it.
8. They humbly understood that they could not foresee all future circumstances, so they established a system where the people have all the power to evolve and amend their life's work with the times. The onus is on We the People to make the USA into what we envision it to be.
The result? There are *cooking pots* in China older than the entirety of the USA, yet in 200-some years we have managed to accomplish more than what China has done in thousands.
In comparison, China's government has NONE of the 8 characteristics that I have outlined above. They may say they have some of the above, but the central "People's" government routinely flies in the face of their own constitution. The internet is censored and speech is completely monitored by the government. The government abducts people from their homes without trial. The government sends people to "re-education" labor camps for exercising free speech that they don't condone. Capitalism has been allowed to run amok. All the wealth is concentrated in the government because government jobs are the highest paying jobs (both in terms of salary and copious "side income") meaning everyone wants to work for the government. The government owns the military. The people have no tools to defend themselves. If the government gets a whiff of people banding together to stage a protest, they will squash it in the bud in the name of harmony.
We have many, many problems, sure. But let us reflect on our roots, or, if your roots are not of this country, like many of us in the Great Melting Pot are, reflect on what the United States stands for and its history. This country came from such a solid, selfless foundation and the systems are still in place to keep it that way.
I am proud to hold the ideals of the United States near and dear to me. My parents may not have arrived on a ship past Ellis Island, but they were absolutely "[the] tired, [the] poor, [the] huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of [China's] teeming shore." One of their first jobs in this country was collecting cans together on the street to redeem for their recycling value while taking care of a 3 year old. Now my mom owns a successful business and my father is head engineer at a multinational plastics firm started by a Hungarian immigrant.
When people here ask me if I consider myself Chinese or American, I reply "American" without pause. I would have never said this 4 months ago, but today I can say, with not a single shred of blind devotion, that I am proud to be an American, and hold nothing but gratitude for you all who share the same ideals, regardless of nationality, country, race, creed, and sex.
I'm of Chinese ethnicity. When I left the USA 4 months ago to visit China I thought that the USA was just an incredibly average country. We have massive problems that seem infuriatingly unfix-able, and I was jaded with it all. After spending 4 months in China, and after reflecting back on the founding principles of the country, I only have this to say.
We must never stop fighting for the ideals of the USA.
1. We have such a good thing going. Our founding fathers were utterly selfless in their establishment of our nation. They truly did their best to create a nation of the people, FOR the people. NOT for themselves.
2. They voluntarily established terms limits, essentially making themselves jobless after a certain period of time.
3. They allowed the people to vote for who will be in power at a time when the country was weak and they could have easily taken power for themselves.
4. They were adamant that no one part of government can ever have too much power, so they set up a system of checks and balances, limiting their own powers.
5. They made us into a society of laws, where no one is above society's laws but everyone has the right to a trial and legal representation.
6. They gave us the right to say anything we want, print whatever we want, assemble how we want, practice whatever religion we want, and to petition the government for changes. They ingrained in us the spirit of "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
7. They gave us arms so that we could defend ourselves and ultimately protect ourselves from the very government they were establishing, should it ever come to it.
8. They humbly understood that they could not foresee all future circumstances, so they established a system where the people have all the power to evolve and amend their life's work with the times. The onus is on We the People to make the USA into what we envision it to be.
The result? There are *cooking pots* in China older than the entirety of the USA, yet in 200-some years we have managed to accomplish more than what China has done in thousands.
In comparison, China's government has NONE of the 8 characteristics that I have outlined above. They may say they have some of the above, but the central "People's" government routinely flies in the face of their own constitution. The internet is censored and speech is completely monitored by the government. The government abducts people from their homes without trial. The government sends people to "re-education" labor camps for exercising free speech that they don't condone. Capitalism has been allowed to run amok. All the wealth is concentrated in the government because government jobs are the highest paying jobs (both in terms of salary and copious "side income") meaning everyone wants to work for the government. The government owns the military. The people have no tools to defend themselves. If the government gets a whiff of people banding together to stage a protest, they will squash it in the bud in the name of harmony.
We have many, many problems, sure. But let us reflect on our roots, or, if your roots are not of this country, like many of us in the Great Melting Pot are, reflect on what the United States stands for and its history. This country came from such a solid, selfless foundation and the systems are still in place to keep it that way.
I am proud to hold the ideals of the United States near and dear to me. My parents may not have arrived on a ship past Ellis Island, but they were absolutely "[the] tired, [the] poor, [the] huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of [China's] teeming shore." One of their first jobs in this country was collecting cans together on the street to redeem for their recycling value while taking care of a 3 year old. Now my mom owns a successful business and my father is head engineer at a multinational plastics firm started by a Hungarian immigrant.
When people here ask me if I consider myself Chinese or American, I reply "American" without pause. I would have never said this 4 months ago, but today I can say, with not a single shred of blind devotion, that I am proud to be an American, and hold nothing but gratitude for you all who share the same ideals, regardless of nationality, country, race, creed, and sex.
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