An American Embarassment
I was asked to write an article for a Journal in Kagawa... some thing that English teachers contribute to every year... I don't know WHAT the hell its for, but... people seem to write in about whateverthehell they want. And I, oh ho ho, I decided to write this embarassing article about how beautiful America is. Am I retarded??? I am shocked at myself. I don't know why this came out of me. ACTUALLY, I do. It's because I wrote it at my desk in my office at school, where I am often discriminated against and I was probably feeling self ritcheous. Can ANYONE spell righteous?! IS that iT? Forget it. Read this piece of shit.
A Pistol in Every Household?
America through the eyes of the world.
Lindsay Rosso
After having spent a few years in Japan, I’ve learned quite a few things about the culture. I’ve also had a great opportunity to think about the way nations identify with themselves and other countries. As an American, I find quite a few things interesting about Japanese culture. Like, why doesn’t 7-11 carry Slurpees here? That’s a huge issue with me. But there are more important things too. Why am I repeatedly asked if I own a gun in America? And why are the people asking me proper members of society who should know better?
Ok, come on. I know America has a reputation. I know we currently have a president who is under attack by most of the people in the WORLD, and I know we’ve done some less than savory things in our political past, but… show me a country that hasn’t! (That’s not an excuse.) Who told Japan that we have all these guns stored away? We’re just people! I want to be the first to say that… it’s TOUGH to be an American. Not because I don’t love my country and my lifestyle, but because it’s not easy to try and take responsibility for your country’s reputation, not to mention permanent record! And I didn’t even vote for Bush.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that there are good people in the world, no matter where you go. There are good, caring, thoughtful people in the United States who live simple lives just like families in Kagawa and other places across the world. We care about the people dying in Iraq. We care about who is elected into office, and we vote. My family doesn’t own a gun. To be honest with you, I’ve never even seen one! Not one single real gun in my whole life. Maybe that means I’m sheltered, but I think it certainly means that America is NOT the wild and dangerous place that many Japanese people think it is.
I guess the reason that the US has the reputation it does is because we have these REDICULOUS rules and regulations called a CONSTITUTION which allow people to do whatever they WANT. (To a certain extent, right?) Like… we’re known for this freedom thing (you know, the Statue of Liberty?), but should people be free enough to carry guns? Should Arnold Schwarzenegger, who once starred in a movie called “Kindergarten Cop,” and is a know womanizer, be a politician? Maybe not, but who’s to say!?
Who’s to say??? Well… Americans, that’s who.
And THIS is why I love America: Because, while we have the FREEDOM to do ridiculous things and elect bad politicians and carry guns which might (and often do) kill our fellow countrymen, we ALSO have the freedom to do WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL things. We just did one, by the way, by electing the house and senate full of Democrats who are looking for change in Iraq, a huge victory for Americans who are fed up with the war. (There are a lot of us.) We CAN carry guns and protect ourselves and our families if we think that’s necessary. People from foreign countries for hundreds of years have traveled to the US and BECOME Americans. It’s an amazing beautiful thing! We’ve kicked the butt of discrimination really hard! I love America for embracing the world and its people in a way that countries like Japan have only just begun to THINK about doing. Any man, woman, or child can step foot on the soil of the United States of America and be embraced as an American, whether they’re on vacation or they’re immigrants. Of course! People will think you speak English, and people will think you know how to catch a cab, and people will ask you where the toilet is, and people will tell you to back off!!! No matter WHO you are.
But, I’m a white girl from Michigan. I will never be able to be Japanese… no matter how long I live in this country. It’s just a fact of life. しょうがない。I think when I realized that, I finally learned to appreciate Americans for who they are. And my final plea to you is that you not define American people by the actions of their government. (I know we vote for them, just hear me out.) The people make America, not the president. In fact, the American people doubt their government just as much, if not more than, any other group of people in the world, and THAT is what makes us AMERICAN. There’s no other label to be put on us. There’s too many of us! It’s too big a country! Heck, my next door neighbor lives by different customs than me, and the next one down too! We’re gonna make mistakes, but we’re also gonna be triumphant. Because Americans have the beautiful power of freedom. The freedom to screw up, and the freedom to fix it. The next thing on the list is the war in Iraq. I hope sooner rather than later the American PEOPLE will have the courage to stop our fellow Americans and Iraqis from continuing to perish for a lost cause.
A Pistol in Every Household?
America through the eyes of the world.
Lindsay Rosso
After having spent a few years in Japan, I’ve learned quite a few things about the culture. I’ve also had a great opportunity to think about the way nations identify with themselves and other countries. As an American, I find quite a few things interesting about Japanese culture. Like, why doesn’t 7-11 carry Slurpees here? That’s a huge issue with me. But there are more important things too. Why am I repeatedly asked if I own a gun in America? And why are the people asking me proper members of society who should know better?
Ok, come on. I know America has a reputation. I know we currently have a president who is under attack by most of the people in the WORLD, and I know we’ve done some less than savory things in our political past, but… show me a country that hasn’t! (That’s not an excuse.) Who told Japan that we have all these guns stored away? We’re just people! I want to be the first to say that… it’s TOUGH to be an American. Not because I don’t love my country and my lifestyle, but because it’s not easy to try and take responsibility for your country’s reputation, not to mention permanent record! And I didn’t even vote for Bush.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that there are good people in the world, no matter where you go. There are good, caring, thoughtful people in the United States who live simple lives just like families in Kagawa and other places across the world. We care about the people dying in Iraq. We care about who is elected into office, and we vote. My family doesn’t own a gun. To be honest with you, I’ve never even seen one! Not one single real gun in my whole life. Maybe that means I’m sheltered, but I think it certainly means that America is NOT the wild and dangerous place that many Japanese people think it is.
I guess the reason that the US has the reputation it does is because we have these REDICULOUS rules and regulations called a CONSTITUTION which allow people to do whatever they WANT. (To a certain extent, right?) Like… we’re known for this freedom thing (you know, the Statue of Liberty?), but should people be free enough to carry guns? Should Arnold Schwarzenegger, who once starred in a movie called “Kindergarten Cop,” and is a know womanizer, be a politician? Maybe not, but who’s to say!?
Who’s to say??? Well… Americans, that’s who.
And THIS is why I love America: Because, while we have the FREEDOM to do ridiculous things and elect bad politicians and carry guns which might (and often do) kill our fellow countrymen, we ALSO have the freedom to do WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL things. We just did one, by the way, by electing the house and senate full of Democrats who are looking for change in Iraq, a huge victory for Americans who are fed up with the war. (There are a lot of us.) We CAN carry guns and protect ourselves and our families if we think that’s necessary. People from foreign countries for hundreds of years have traveled to the US and BECOME Americans. It’s an amazing beautiful thing! We’ve kicked the butt of discrimination really hard! I love America for embracing the world and its people in a way that countries like Japan have only just begun to THINK about doing. Any man, woman, or child can step foot on the soil of the United States of America and be embraced as an American, whether they’re on vacation or they’re immigrants. Of course! People will think you speak English, and people will think you know how to catch a cab, and people will ask you where the toilet is, and people will tell you to back off!!! No matter WHO you are.
But, I’m a white girl from Michigan. I will never be able to be Japanese… no matter how long I live in this country. It’s just a fact of life. しょうがない。I think when I realized that, I finally learned to appreciate Americans for who they are. And my final plea to you is that you not define American people by the actions of their government. (I know we vote for them, just hear me out.) The people make America, not the president. In fact, the American people doubt their government just as much, if not more than, any other group of people in the world, and THAT is what makes us AMERICAN. There’s no other label to be put on us. There’s too many of us! It’s too big a country! Heck, my next door neighbor lives by different customs than me, and the next one down too! We’re gonna make mistakes, but we’re also gonna be triumphant. Because Americans have the beautiful power of freedom. The freedom to screw up, and the freedom to fix it. The next thing on the list is the war in Iraq. I hope sooner rather than later the American PEOPLE will have the courage to stop our fellow Americans and Iraqis from continuing to perish for a lost cause.