How to: Be an American

Heylo, and welcome to another blog from "This Guy Over Here." Today's topic is how to: Be an American. I thought this was particularly fitting because, as I hope everyone has realized, today marks the 9th anniversary of September 11th, 2001. It is absolutely mind-boggling to think about how just nine short years ago, we watched in shock and awe as our homeland was attacked. The community and togetherness that resulted from those attacks showed the true spirit of the United States; a spirit that is inside each and every individual that calls these 50 states our home. We mourn the losses that were suffered on that day, and we remember the courage and bravery that was shown in efforts to rescue all who were inside. On that day, a new found respect was born for the soldiers of our country. It was not because we suddenly awoke and noted the importance of our troops; but rather, we once again knew that we were fighting for something. We felt the pain of some body attacking our freedom, and it is this pain that drove us to draw together and bond as Americans.

So today, in honor of all of the people that were involved in some way with the attacks on 9/11 ( which technically is every American), the blog is going to be about how to be an American; how to bleed red, white, and blue, and how to be proud of the country that you live in, because it is truly the best in the entire world.

1) A New Idea: Tradition

As Americans, we pride ourselves on our traditions. Not as much as other countries perhaps, but then again, we haven't been around as long. However, on the other hand, we take pride in being a country of new ideas, of new lifestyles, and of new goals. So saying this, we relish the new and the old. As an American, you must be able to keep tradition strong, when at the same time thinking about new and exciting ways to do things.

2) Remember

Sometimes we are too focused on the future to remember to think about the past and be proud of our heritage. We like to say that we support our troops, and some of us do; but honestly, when is the last time that the everyday person has done something for a soldier. How many of us can actually remember the history of the United States? Most of us have taken some class that tells us the events, but how many of us actually take pride in our origin, the founding of a country that has risen through more ranks, toppled more dictators, and revolutionized life in more ways in the first 200 years of existence than any other country. We have defined our own way of life. We have made English the world language. We have changed technology, revolutionized medicine and science. and created the era of modern sports. We have things to be proud of, but we act as if being an American is supposed to be given to us, not something that we represent.

This is a relatively short blog because I am running low on time; however, I just wanted to express my patriotism and write a quick blurb about remembering September 11th. Have a great day, and I will be writing more on Monday!

Closing thought for the day, " A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle" ~George William Curtis

Signing off,

JD