As Far As We Are

I never intended on becoming a U.S. ambassador to the world. Normally, when I am at home in the U.S., I find myself generally disgusted with the state of affairs, usually with very few good things to say about my country. I mean, it’s not like we have American flags hanging from every corner of our house. But lately I have been shoved into the corner by one too many Europeans, and feel that I have to stand up for my country—at least a little bit.

At Taize, we met many great people from all over the world. We cleaned toilets with girls from India, the Philippines, and Korea. We discussed texts from the Bible with folks from the Netherlands, Germany, France, Columbia, Brazil, Austria, Spain, and Italy. We ate alongside teens and adults from Ireland, Chile, Sweden, England, and Finland. It was beautiful and fascinating to spend a week among so many different people, to pray and sing with them in several different languages, and to learn new things from each person we met.

Most people seemed to have the ability to separate “Americans” from “America,” and even though NO ONE we met had anything good to say about our government, most people accepted us with an open mind.

On the other hand, a couple people we ran into really dug into us. To be fair, all their questions and concerns about the U.S. are questions and concerns I also have: Why do Americans drive such large vehicles? What is going on in Iraq? Why does the government spend so much money on the military when there are elderly people who can’t pay for their prescriptions and youth unable to pay for college? Why did the allied forces in WWII bomb so many innocent people?

We want to scream, “I DON’T KNOW! I AM AS CONFUSED AS YOU! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!”

We do scream that—sort of. But then we try our best to honestly answer their questions and try to dispel the myth that all Americans are evil—that some really do care about the environment and don’t will the death of thousands of innocent people. That actually there are many people that didn’t even vote for the current president and are equally unsatisfied with the state of affairs.

Unfortunately, there are some young people that exclusively use Michael Moore’s films for their information on the U.S. To them, we are all gun-wielding, gas-guzzling war mongers who don’t care whose toes get stepped on as long as we get where we want to go. Eventually, these people usually concede that at least Josh and I have seemed to escape the dreaded “American plague” that the rest of the country is suffering. They tell themselves that by some stroke of luck, they have met the only sane Americans on earth.

This experience has forced me to two places: first of all, I feel like I need to be a better-informed citizen. Often, non-Americans are more informed on the politics and world issues than I am—maybe for a lack of good news sources, but nonetheless, I need to be more well-informed. And with the internet, there is really no good excuse not to be.

Second of all, Josh and I have found ourselves grasping to remember the beautiful things about our country. No, we haven’t bought matching American-flag sweatshirts, but we are finding that having a little national pride doesn’t have to look like a Wal-Mart store on the eve of the Fourth of July. Our beautiful national parks, a constitution built on freedom of expression, and inventions like rock and roll and the light bulb are nothing to sneeze at, you know.

That is why we have decided to call on you—our friends and loved ones that we consider to be intelligent, open-minded American people—to help us create a top-ten list of what is great about the United States (and if you happen to be reading this and call another country your homeland, you can feel free to give us your perspective on the good things the U.S. brings to the table). We all recognize and have talked to death about the ugly, almost unbearable aspects of our country and government. I think most of us are aware of the oppression, the dirty politics, and the big businesses trying to take over the world. But just for a few minutes, let’s remember that it’s not all doom and gloom. Let’s reclaim the good.

To get the ball rolling, here are a couple thoughts:

Eat Street: there are few places outside the U.S. where you can walk down the same street and see restaurants serving food from India, Malaysia, China, Germany, Vietnam, Greece, Mexico, you name it—its there. And that’s just in Minneapolis. Not only that, but often the people that are running these restaurants are actually from these countries. That’s right, in one street you can find people from literally every corner of the globe.

The National Parks: Being outdoors kinds of people, we have a deep appreciation for Teddy Roosevelt and his sanctioning of so many beautiful areas in the country as national parks. On our road trip out west, we took advantage of many of these parks, sleeping for next to nothing under the stars, surrounded by the redwoods, the Joshua trees, the Grand Canyon—you name it.

Baseball: Just kidding.

Share you thoughts with us …

- Jessie (and Josh), late April, 2007