| On the Eve of My Country's Birthday
I think everyone has pride in their country and it's culture, but I'm also proud of what my country stands for: FREEDOM.
In all my years, I have never seen it written better than the words expressed by Cornel Nistorescu in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei:
~An Ode to America~
Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs. Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart.
Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.
After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the s moking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing.
On every occasion, they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!" I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people.
How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy.
What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion... Only freedom can work such miracles.
Cornel Nistorescu
In the history of my county's birth, the words of one single man started a revolution. In 1776, a common, unknown man by the name of Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense. By all accounts, Thomas was a two or three-time looser who failed at two professions and his own business in GB. So, how could a common man's words cause people to rise up, take to arms, and take on the greatest power in the world, the King of England?
FREEDOM
Thomas Paine wrote "Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an in tolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer!"
Thank you, Thomas Paine. You were the first true American. You started the ideals of human freedom in a democratic state. You started a revolution for mankind!
Tomorrow I will take pride in the fact that my country, America, stands for freedom. No, she is not perfect. She is young, restless and often acts foolishly; but her motives are pure. All people should live in freedom and with dignity.
Let Freedom Ring.
Happy Birthday America!!!
__________________
Autopia.org Mayor At-Large  | 
Linear Mode
