September 18, 2011

An outsider's view of America.

Tomorrow morning I'll be travelling to beautiful North Carolina.  I'll be in Cary for two days on a business trip.  I've been to Cary once before and I found it quite enjoyable.  Being in the United States is a great feeling.  Sometimes I get the feeling that a lot of Americans (not all, but many) take their nation, their freedom and their opportunity for granted.  Every time I visit anywhere in the United States I'm struck by the greatness of the country.

Perhaps too many people have become so accustomed to it, or numb to it, that it is almost inevitable it gets taken for granted.  That would explain the slow erosion of those liberties and that opportunity as it is gradually removed by bureaucracy.  I'm speaking of government bureaucracy.  If a business succumbs to bureaucratic excess it ends up harming itself as customers eventually seek out alternatives.  With government that's not an option.  As a citizen you can't just pick up and leave.  You can elect another government but often they are just a different speed of that erosion.  Ultimately, you could leave the country but that's truly difficult.  Trust me, if it were that easy, I would be an American already.  And it's harder to leave the United States than other countries because in most every respect, choosing another country is a step backwards.

Yes, other countries have the Internet - Al Gore invented it for everyone.  Other countries have most of the same amenities as the United States.  But they aren't the same.  They don't feel the same.  Maybe if you've traveled outside the United States on vacation you might have noticed it.  Or on your return you've noticed what I've noticed every time I visit America; it's uniquely great. It truly is.  The only way you lose something like that, is to forget that you have it.

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