Proud of my "country"

When Michelle Obama spoke for her husband Monday in Milwaukee, she drew a firewall of rants from "patriotic Americans" (i.e., nationalists) when she said, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country," implying she was not proud before. She drew angry rebuttals from Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, National Review's Jim Geraghty, Bill O'Reilly, and John McCain's wife Cindy. In fact, O'Reilly used the words "lynching party" when referring to Obama. I guess the conservative pundits are a little steamed!

But what does Obama mean when she said "country" in the aforementioned quote? Country means America, I know that, but "country" is a vague term. Does she mean the American people? Or does she mean the American history? Or does she mean the American government? I simply don't know.

As for the people, I speak of the people as individuals, not groups. But on the average, there is a difference among the people of different nations. Americans as a whole are more independent-minded and rugged as compared to Iraqis or Spanish. And (on the average) there is a difference among different states within the United States. Although there are some exceptions, the people of Texas or New Hampshire are more independent-minded than the people of California or New Jersey. Now I am a Christian, and God's two greatest Commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor (i.e., people), so as a whole, I am proud of the people of my country.

As for the history, I am proud of American history in the late 18th/early 19th century, not 20th century and today. I would be happier if the presidents were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Q. Adams, and Andrew Jackson; not Franklin Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, or George W. Bush. When America was young, America was a country of independent and free people, who take care of themselves. But America today is a country of weak and timid people who need government for everything. I am more proud of my country back then compared to now.

As for the government, it's similar to history. I am proud of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights--I am proud of all our founding documents. In the late 18th/early 19th century, the American government was small and limited; it only got its power from the Constitution, as it should. Now, American government is huge and bloated; it has unlimited power, and seeks more every day.

For example, back then, America got its money from gold and silver; now, it gets its money from the Federal Reserve, an unconstitutional cartel of private banks which prints its inflationary "money" (i.e., fiat-paper notes with no backing) out of thin air. Back then, Americans had no income tax. The people could keep all what they earned, and they could decide how to spend/save/invest their earnings; now, 40% or more of the people's earnings, the government (not the people) gets to decide what to do with it.

Back then, people who wanted to protect themselves, their families, and their property simply carried a firearm--no licenses, no permits, no restrictions, no anything; they just carried and went along their way. Now, if the people want to defend themselves, they have to apply for a permit, take a CCW class, get finger-printed (like a common criminal), wait for three months (or more) in order to receive a permit, and then the guns are not allowed in government buildings, schools, court houses, and anywhere else the government wants to restrict--and some states won't allow guns, period!

And thus (back then), America was growing and thriving; now, America is on a road to disaster. I would be skeptical back then when the elected officials supposed to honor their oaths, but I don't trust them now when they don't. In any case, the adjective "proud" is not a word I will use to describe the government.

Now there is one thing that Obama feels proud now but not before, but I can't comment. It is because she is black and I am white. I am blind of the racial segregation, Jim Crow laws, and all that entails to be growing up black in the '60s and the '70s. Now she might be blind of how the government did and does things to her and the people around her (which I covered before), as well as me (i.e., government abuse is colorblind). But there is no getting around the fact that I am not black.

What did Michelle Obama meant when she said her quote from the first paragraph? Only she (and God) knows for sure.