The Literary Salon

A free salon wherein patrons and passers-by may view or contribute ideas on literary and generally intellectual matters. The blog will strive to maintain its commitment to wit, humour and perspicuous analysis.

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Location: Toronto, now Ottawa, Ont, Canada

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Thank You, America

On this, the 233rd anniversary of the independence of America, I thought it appropriate to share some thoughts on why I think everyone should be thanking America today, despite the popularity of hating it. In lieu of a detailed and potentially boring essay, I provide the following succinct list:

1) Innovation: America leads the world by far in terms of technology and innovation. The next time you say you hate America, think twice as you use your Mac, PC, Cell phone, Ipod, Facebook, or Internet. The world has its problems now, but American innovation will likely be the solution to them.

2) Arts: though some pretend to be snobs, nearly everyone, including those in countries hostile to the USA, watches and enjoys Hollywood films. How many people saw Dark Knight? Star Trek? Star Wars? This is to say nothing of music, most of which is (or tries to be) American. In fact, people in the Middle East WANT to be American; they may hate the politics, but they love the culture.

3) Opportunity: America remains the land of opportunity. Despite what hypocritical, PC leftists maintain, the fact is that it is the first Western country in the world to elect a black president (yes, he's half, but he's visibly black). Not only that, but he came from a disadvantaged background: he was raised by a single mother who had to use foodstamps occasionally. In what other country in the world is this possible?

4) Last but not least, peace and stability: yes, this may sound strange, and I admit the USA isn't perfect, especially on foreign policy. But, and trust me on this one, you want the USA to remain the world's only superpower for as long as possible. You DON'T want a world run by China or Russia. Despite its flaws and occasional human rights violations, America is the lesser of all evils, and it has in place a system of checks and balances to ensure that such violations do not continue very long.