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Today is America's 244th B'day. It brings to mind my taxi-ride habit.
On *every* ride I've taken in the US, usually in cities up/down the East coast, my 1st act, after stating my destination, was to initiate a convo w/ the driver, almost always a male foreigner w/ a thick accent
On *every* ride I've taken in the US, usually in cities up/down the East coast, my 1st act, after stating my destination, was to initiate a convo w/ the driver, almost always a male foreigner w/ a thick accent
For ~30 yrs, it's gone like this:
Q: So where are you from?
A: [You name it: Pakistan, Uruguay, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, etc]
Q: Nice. How long have you lived in the US?
A: [Variable. Months to decades]
Q: So how do you like living here?
Q: So where are you from?
A: [You name it: Pakistan, Uruguay, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, etc]
Q: Nice. How long have you lived in the US?
A: [Variable. Months to decades]
Q: So how do you like living here?
A (w/ maybe 4 exceptions in 3 decades): I absolutely love living here.
Q: Really? What about ... [I mention 'Problem du Jour': guns, racism, senseless war, xenophobia, ineffective govt, corrupt President, inequity, etc.]
A (always): Oh, but it's so much worse everywhere else.
Q: Really? What about ... [I mention 'Problem du Jour': guns, racism, senseless war, xenophobia, ineffective govt, corrupt President, inequity, etc.]
A (always): Oh, but it's so much worse everywhere else.
America! You are troubled, lost, riven, bedraggled, misguided, rotting in places from the inside out.
But I, for one, still love you & still believe in those glorious ideals enshrined in your governing principles 244 years ago, resounding 'round the world ever since.
But I, for one, still love you & still believe in those glorious ideals enshrined in your governing principles 244 years ago, resounding 'round the world ever since.
Those principles, and you, are worth preserving and defending, and worth the struggle to do so.
Happy Birthday, America!
I beseech the Universe: May you have many, many more to come!
Happy Birthday, America!
I beseech the Universe: May you have many, many more to come!
