Happy To Be An American…

I am down to the final 36 hours of the trip, and am excited about coming back home. I will post another set of links to track my flights that begin tomorrow at about 6:00ish (CST) in the States.

Sometimes the best thing one can do is see a situation through the eyes of another. I probably spend too much time thinking about, and disagreeing with the policies of my country. I do not do this out of a dislike, but out of a desire to do better. But sometimes that thought leaves me not appreciating the wonderful things about America.

I have spent time with a guy from Lebanon (the country, not the city) while here in Kuwait. He is a citizen of the United States, and his perspectives reflect those two things. It is always amazing to me when I hear him talk about the U.S. in such a positive light. Sure, he disagrees with many policies and such, but it was great to hear him talk about Barack Obama in the way that he did. Though he does not support Obama’s campaign, it was inspiring to hear him say “Only in America could this happen”, referring to a person of a minority race rivaling for the presidency. Nothing like that would ever happen in Kuwait. Or in Egypt. Or in Israel… the list goes on. I thank God that he has placed me in a society where these kinds of walls can be broken down.

The other major thing that has inspired me when thinking about the States is our belief in the worth of the individual. Though not all people display this trait, I do not know people who think they are better than a gas station attendant simply because they are an educator. Or think they are better than a fast-food worker simply because they are a public school superintendent. Here in Kuwait, racism and classism are the norm. With so many Kuwaiti families having money, the blue-collar work is done by immigrants (generally from India).

To give two quick examples of this sad state of affairs, I begin at a local mall. I ate at a food court two nights ago and was told by my American friend to buss our table of the trash because it would “weird people out”. (Americans are looked at as a similar class/social status in Kuwait.) And I received “looks” when I cleared our table. Later that night we were at a local Shesha café (the water-pipe made famous in this region) and the Bangladeshi who is in charge of keeping hot coals on the top of the tobacco dropped the sugar from his side. I helped him pick it all up off of the ground, and again received “looks” from the other patrons. That is not the job of an American. It is “beneath” me.

I do not tell these stories to elevate myself. I do not know many people who would not do the same thing, though some certainly exist. (another double-negative sentence that works). It just makes me look thankfully at the land in which I live. Being an educator does not make me better than anyone, and I do not think that I am unique in thinking that. I think it is simply a part of the American spirit developed in me by my upbringing.

I hope I that I have not over-elevated America in this post. I examine countries and policies critically, and tend to scrutinize America very harshly, but in order to be fair- I must also support when she does something right.