Chaos Magnet

I know he's got problems

I know he's got problems back in England, but I have to say that I like Tony Blair. I missed his speech to Congress but was fortunate enough to find the transcript. I also caught the subsequent press conference with him and President Bush, and the contrast is amazing. He's incredibly well spoken -- and knows how to pronounce "nuclear," which is always a plus -- and I particularly enjoyed the required humor at the beginning of his speech.

In his speech, Blair challenges us to tell people why we're proud of America. Now, I do a fair bit of Bush-bashing here -- or will, if I haven't already -- so I thought this would be a good opportunity to tell you that I love America. With all of our faults, with all of the terrible things we've done, and are doing, and likely will do in the future, I still think this is the greatest country in the world. Why? Because this is a country where at least the groundwork for universal freedom is in place. Where -- at least in theory -- any person can be anything they aspire to be, whether it's a hermit in the mountains or the President.

Are we perfect? Of course not. We're human, and that's one of the things I like best about America. Our entire governmental structure is based on the idea that somebody, somewhere, is going to make a mistake. If you don't like a king, you don't really have too much alternative other than to wait him out and hope for better luck with his heir. Don't like your Senator, or even the President? Vote him out. Or if he's just too egregiously bad, impeach him. It's a self-correcting system, even if it can take a long, long time to get to equilibrium on any particular issue. (Take civil rights. We're still working on it, but we're a heck of a lot closer than we were 50 years ago.)

Some say that I'm an idealist, that it's not really free. I've heard people say that the entire election system is bogus, and after the last one, that's a tough, tough argument to fight. But that's partly because of our own apathy. I'll be interested to see how many people who've never voted before come to the polls in 2004 based on the idea that 564 (or so) votes essentially decided the 2000 election. (Some would say that it was 9 votes -- those of the Supreme Court -- that decided the election. I'm inclined to agree.)

But even with media consolidation, even with government crackdowns and laws that scare the heck out of me, we still live in a society where a person with a strong enough will can make a difference. Now that person doesn't always have the common good at heart, and that's why we sometimes get leaders -- both political and social -- that we really don't want. But as a whole, there are more good people here in America than there are those with less noble motives. We saw that in the aftermath of September 11, when everyone was falling over themselves to help each other. We are a good people, a strong people, and if enough of us stand up for what is right, we can make a difference.

And that's why I'm proud of America.

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