I hope you’re having a fabulous 4th of July!

It’s a short Rude today, so you can get right back to your holiday.

Yesterday, Pam and I celebrated our 14th anniversary. It was nice to reflect on our relationship, our son, and our new home.

This year also marks my 14th year without being a US citizen. I’m still happy with my decision, but there are some great things about the States that I probably haven’t mentioned yet.

Although I'm no longer a citizen, I’m still grateful to have been born in the USA. There are many reasons to be happy, but these are my top five.

1. How did a ragtag bunch of rustics beat the British in the 1770s?
2. The sadness of small countries bragging about small accomplishments.
3. Public education in the 80s.
4. The togetherness of the 80s and 90s.
5. The sheer number of accomplishments in 245 years.

How Did a Ragtag Bunch of Rustics Beat the Brits in the 1770s?

Even today, I don’t think people genuinely understand the magnitude of the British Empire and the difficulty of breaking away from the largest empire the world had ever seen.

Read Walter Isaacson’s biography, Benjamin Franklin, to get a sense of how even that great Founding Father didn’t want a war. In fact, he sought an Imperial Parliament and the British Empire to expand its global influence.

I don’t know about you, but that’s not what I was taught in history class.

However, the “no taxation without representation” brigade would not be denied, so the Colonies went to war with the greatest war machine ever assembled. They somehow won despite their great General losing far more battles than he won!

Thank heavens for the French emptying their treasury to fight the English on the Colonies’ behalf.

Once Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, the new country came into being.

Later, Adam Smith would prove that the UK didn’t need political control but free trade to achieve economic success.

Politically, the UK turned east after the American Revolution, with the notable exception of the War of 1812. However, trade with its former colonies continued to flourish.

The sadness of small countries bragging about small accomplishments.

Brazil or Argentina wins the World Cup. New Zealand or South Africa wins the Rugby World Cup. Australia wins the Ashes (a cricket tournament against England).

English F1 fans cheering for Lewis Hamilton because he’s English.

Who gives a toss?

Anyone who watches the Olympics at any level above sheer curiosity.

To quote our unabashed President, “SAD!”

I’m no fan of war, but sports have become a proxy war. It’s embarrassing.

Luckily, I’ll never understand it because I was born in the United States.

Public Education in the 1980s

I’ve read more Shakespeare than most of my British Commonwealth-born friends. I just don’t get it. The richness of the literature reached Hasbrouck Heights High School, but barely anywhere in the former British Empire.

You wouldn’t believe it unless you were told.

Not everything was fabulous, and I’m certainly not classically educated, but I was prepared. That’s more than I can say for most kids these days.

Homeschooling has never been a more attractive option, and for good reason. But it wasn’t like that in the old days.

The Togetherness of the 1980s

Remember when you could have a normal, interesting conversation with differing viewpoints with a Democrat?

It’s been a long time, I know, but those days were great.

No outrage, triggering, or name-calling. Just a good old-fashioned debate about where the country should go.

But that’s when America had a loyal opposition, something that’s long left its shores.

The Sheer Amount of Accomplishments in 248 Years

There were only 66 years between Kitty Hawk and the moon.

Think about that.

Not even seven decades between learning to fly and learning to fly to the moon.

Insane.

Imagine what we’d be doing nowadays if we weren’t worrying about deadnaming, triggering, critical race theory, and pandering to a crowd that probably won’t even watch your movie.

“Beam me up, Scotty!” wouldn’t just have been an exclamation; it might have been a reality.

Here’s a list of American Nobel Prize winners. If you can get past Kissinger, Krugman, Gore, and Obama, it’s a list to be proud of.

Well, that’s all I’ve got today. It’s good to remember things we ought to be thankful for.

God Bless America.