I am an AMERICAN!

[Bob Wright]

On a recent thread, someone mentioned they visited another country and would liked to have remained there. I can't imagine that.

I was born here in the United States. My roots go 'way back, my family cemetery was established around 1828. My parents, brother and sisters are buried here. And my wife just recently joined them in death. Her grave is in the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.

I get up on Sunday mornings and go to church. The church of my choice, a Baptist church. I chose this church because it's doctrine is closest to what I believe the Bible teaches. I'm free to go to that church, without any harassment from local leaders and worked up rabble. And you likewise ca go to your church of your choice, or not go at all if that is your wish.

I own a car, actually an SUV, and can go from my house to either coast without any passport required. I can go and come when I want to.

And I carry a gun for defense. Yes, there is crime here in America, and I have the right to defend myself, with deadly force if necessary. And when I so desire, I can go to a shooting range or into the woods for some shooting.

In China, possession of more than one Bible is evidence of intent to distribute, a punishable crime there. And might result in the death penalty being executed. In some African nations, those friendly to the US, a Christian may be dragged from his home and beaten to death, right in front of his family. Same in India.

We, the United States, is far from being perfect, but its 'way ahead of what's in second place.

Two flags grace the pulpit area in my church, Old Glory and the Christian Flag. I pledge allegiance to both.

Bob Wright

 

[Kevin]

Well said Bob.

I’m one of those who said I would move to Provance, France. But don’t get me wrong, America does have unparalleled freedoms that other countries don’t have. You said this better than I could.

I did get the opportunity to life in Bulgaria for about 3 years. That was back in my 20’s, so in many ways, I almost feel like I grew up there more than here in the States.

In fact we still have an apartment there. It’s in my wife’s home town. And just so we don’t have to sleep on her parents sofa.

In lots of ways, Bulgaria is very much like the South of France. The life style is slow and it’s a very peaceful country. And it’s hard to explain but they are free people like we are here. But it’s different there for some reason. I can’t really explain how. It’s almost like the USA back in the 80’s.

When we go, I don’t worry about my daughter going off downtown with her cousin. Here they wouldn’t go without a parent at all. And that’s just one small example. There are many more. I used to walk home at 3am. Right through the main park downtown Plovdiv with 300,000+ people) and was never concerned about my safety at all.

There are neighborhoods right here in Dallas I wouldn’t walk through in the middle of the day. Same with Memphis or any other big city.

I am very tired of all the racial tension and division here in this country. But if push came to shove, would I really leave to move to Europe for good and ever? No, not really. It would take a life changing event for me to do that.

 

[BearBiologist]

My ancestry is all mixed up.

Dutch/German on my father's side; Irish/Cornish/Native American on my mother's side. Mother's side appears to have come sometime earlier=likely during the Potato Famine, however there is some clue one group traveled on the Trail of Tears. Apparently, some rode with Quantrell (with the James boys) in the Border Wars. Grandma was registered both Cherokee and Chickasaw.

Father's side immigrated (legally) in the mid-1800s. My grandmother's family was Quaker in Penn. Paternal grandfather "rode rodeo" at Pendleton and Calgary, lumberjacked, raised horses and grain, played semi-pro baseball & ice hockey in Canada.

I like to say one side of my ancestry raised and broke horses and the other side stole them.

My DNA shows Icelandic (both sides), Norwegian (both sides), Swedish (both sides), Cornish (maternal grandfather), French (both sides), maybe some Mediterranean (small amount of Greek & Italian), besides Irish and Scottish (both sides), Germanic (both sides).

Anybody want to express an opinion of what I am if not an American?

 

[turd]

Well said, Bob. I have never had any desire to live in any other country. Visit, maybe. There is so much of this country I haven't seen, even though as a consultant I travelled a lot and have work thereof in 37 states. I am an American and always will be. Sometimes I disagree with the political winds, but at least I do have a say in that, and make sure to vote, always and for local as well as national elections. I live in a very much different physical place than you, Bob, but I feel like we are neighbors, and as you said, I can get in my vehicle and visit anyone, anywhere in America without asking anyone's permission. It doesn't get much better than that, IMHO.

 

[jimbo1096]

I'll have to admit I have thought about what it would be to live in another country. Somewhere where the balmy breeze blows and the water is crystal clear. The living is easy and you can eat what you catch. Scuba or free dive out in the coral reefs, lay in the sun relaxing and getting some rays, and wake up to gorgeous women doing the same. Then I wake up for real and realize that would be a great place to visit but I would miss my roots and they would have to ship my mortal remains back to Louisiana to rest besides my ancestors anyway so I just better stay here.

 

[TonyKarp]

I’m an Off The Boat Greek Born, disabled US Navy Vet. I love this country and the only way I could show my love was to enlist and serve her. I have met MANY native born Americans that hate this nation. They do NOT know what is out there. The flag fly‘s every day in my home and I have lost many “friends“ as I am “a conservative nut”. God Bless America.

 

[KIR]

How does one know if there may be some place better unless you have visited it? There are superb places in the United States to be, to visit, to live, but how do you know if there might be some place that is even better unless you check it out?
Sure, you would get homesick, but only because it was someplace you became used to, grew up there, but imagine the adventure of seeing someplace new, experiencing going some place where no man has been before.
Being an American...Gauchos from the Pampas in Argentina are Americans too, South Americans! Don't limit yourself!

 

[2Late45]

With just four years of active duty I was limited to only seeing 8>10 other countries. Even with todays political climate. The good ole United States of America is still hands down the best place to be in the world.

 

[dannyd]

Mr. Trump described most of the other countries I have been to, so I will definitely stay in the United State's and in Florida.

Sometimes the Ipad has a mind of it's own.

 

[Paul B]

I am an AMERICAN! I was born almost three years before the attack on Pearl harbor. My mother passed when I was 13 months old. My dad was too busy with a woman who later became my stepmother, She hated my very existence. I was raised my my paternal grandparents who came here from France legally though Ellis Island. I grew up during what I call the heyday of this country. I saw it rise from the depression to become the greatest super power the world has ever seen and have lived long enough to sadly see how WE THE PEOPLE have pissed it away to the communists who have infiltrated every government agency with one agenda in mind. Total enslavement of WE THE PEOPLE. We are that frog in the pot and the water is getting hotter all the time while we fritter our country away with idiotic crap like WOKEness. Someone once said, sorry I forget who, "United we stand, divided we fall."
We're falling people and no one seems to give a damn. I'm old now. About all I can do is say what I know is true and the devil be damned. What WE THE PEOPLE have allowed is, in my not very humble opinion, UNFORGIVABLE.
Paul B.

 

[contender]

Well said Bob. My sentiments exactly.

But this post made me want to add a little.

"How does one know if there may be some place better unless you have visited it? There are superb places in the United States to be, to visit, to live, but how do you know if there might be some place that is even better unless you check it out?"

I have not, as of yet,, found ANY other Country that has a Constitution where it starts with "We the People,,," For me,, that's a good enough reason to never think about living in another country.
And yes,, I have traveled, visited other countries, and have some worldly experiences.

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

I'm a Texan.

My ancestors arrived here in 1842, while Texas was a republic. I fully support any initiative for Texas to withdraw from the US and be a republic again.

If ever I chose to move from my current residence (in the metropolitan DFW area), it would be to a smallish town (20,000 pop.) far from any large metropolitan area. That town would need to possess a good hospital, rely on ranching/farming for its residents' jobs and not be close to any socialist-disease-carrying universities. Rural Texas west of Fort Worth - getting into the hill country - would be my preference.

Now, if ever I needed to move to another country, I'd be happy in a similarly characterized town in western Oklahoma (since every Oklahoma county votes consistently red). While I like visiting Wyoming or some similar mountainous state, at my age I'd have to pass on living there. Worn out knees, hips, etc. don't do well in the snow and ice.

While in the USAF, I lived for a year on Mindanao (Philippines) and another year in far northern Thailand. Both times, our 20-man detachments lived "off the local economy" as there were no US military installations, no commissaries - in fact no other US personnel (except for the occasional CIA agents who used our encrypted communications equipment to message back to their head sheds). Local food, local customs, local citizens as friends. Later I lived in Kuwait City for 6 months in 1991 immediately after the Iraqis were kicked out. I lived in the home of a Kuwaiti citizen. So I was completely absorbed by Kuwaiti customs, culture, quisine, etc. What a great way to learn about other parts of the world and their differences.

And I have some basis for differentiating where I live compared to other places in the US. I've lived in California, Illinois, Colorado and New York, and spent extended time in Florida, Washington DC, Nashville and a couple of other places. I choose Texas knowingly.

My lineage is mostly Scottish, some Irish, a little French.

Military service is a tradition in my family. One ancestor rode with Gen. Pershing in pursuit of Poncho Villa in the early 1900s. One grandfather was mustard gassed in the trenches in France during WW I. My father was a tin can sailor in the Pacific from 1942-45. I was USAF from 1969-73. And my eldest son is career Army (enlisted for 8 years, CWO Blackhawk pilot for 11 years - deployments to Iraq/Afghanistan). None of us was drafted.

There are no native Texans. Before US citizens migrated to Texas in the early 1800s, no one lived here full time. Apache, Commanche, and a couple of other indigenous groups were hunter/gatherers who travelled through Texas following the buffalo (north to Nebraska in the Summer, south into Mexico in the winter).

The only true native Texans are prairie dogs. Some of the rest of us just got here sooner than others.

 

[rwp315]

On a recent thread, someone mentioned they visited another country and would liked to have remained there. I can't imagine that.

I was born here in the United States. My roots go 'way back, my family cemetery was established around 1828. My parents, brother and sisters are buried here. And my wife just recently joined them in death. Her grave is in the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.

I get up on Sunday mornings and go to church. The church of my choice, a Baptist church. I chose this church because it's doctrine is closest to what I believe the Bible teaches. I'm free to go to that church, without any harassment from local leaders and worked up rabble. And you likewise ca go to your church of your choice, or not go at all if that is your wish.

I own a car, actually an SUV, and can go from my house to either coast without any passport required. I can go and come when I want to.

And I carry a gun for defense. Yes, there is crime here in America, and I have the right to defend myself, with deadly force if necessary. And when I so desire, I can go to a shooting range or into the woods for some shooting.

In China, possession of more than one Bible is evidence of intent to distribute, a punishable crime there. And might result in the death penalty being executed. In some African nations, those friendly to the US, a Christian may be dragged from his home and beaten to death, right in front of his family. Same in India.

We, the United States, is far from being perfect, but its 'way ahead of what's in second place.

Two flags grace the pulpit area in my church, Old Glory and the Christian Flag. I pledge allegiance to both.

Bob Wright

Agreed!

I’ve worked for 4 Fortune 500 companies that allowed me to see the world. I’ll be 73 and was still doing up until last March.

Yes there are some nice places one may want to be but there will be limitations. Medical care, the right to own a car, the taxation applied to it and the possible limitations on where to drive it, plus the cost of operating it. Housing is questionable in some places and the security to go along wait.

The US isn’t perfect but has a tremendous amount going for it.

We have a fight that’s worth it.

 

[Johnnu2]

I like it here.........think I'll stay...

J.

 

[vito]

I've done a fair amount of traveling and only one spot ever made me say to myself "I could live here!". During a trip in Europe we spent two days in Passau, Germany. Not a place most folks would think of as a place to go. The city was totally charming, with narrow winding streets and buildings several hundred years old painted in various colors (I was told that this signaled, since mid-evil times, the nature of the business on the ground floor of the building). Those two days the weather was gorgeous. Being a "college town" the city was teeming with young, friendly Germans, almost all who spoke excellent English. It seemed to have a little plaza at every turn of the old streets, each with attractive little cafes. Plus it was quite clearly an affluent area with shops of every kind including some I knew I could not afford to shop in (and happily my wife agreed not to even bother looking in some of the designer clothing shops we walked past). I so enjoyed that time there that the thought went through my mind of "I could live here".

But in reality I would never leave the U.S.A. to live. This is my country. I served this nation for 24 years. Nowhere else would I really be as free as I am here, including having the protection of my natural right of self defense, which becomes more rather than less important to me as I get old.

 

[Jeepnik]

I was born here. By here I mean in a hospital three blocks from my current home. My bedroom window looks a across the canyon to the hospital. I like it here. In intend to die here.

 

[dstegjas]

My family history in the United States begins with 4 brothers that came through Ellis island many years ago. One went west and was never heard from again. The other three prospered in the eastern part of the United States. Mainly in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. There is a cemetery over in Pennsylvania that has our family name on it. We have over 160 family members buried in it. I also have a family member that is buried in the National cemetery at Gettysburg Pennsylvania. My father and I have both served in the military. His service was during the Korean conflict while in the marines. My service was in the Air Force and then an additional 6 years in the national guard.

I have no desire to live any where else in the world. While in the service I was lucky enough to travel to other countries. Enjoy the people and cultures while I was there. However my home will always be in the United States. My wife and I live in the house I grew up in. We were engaged in this house. My father passed away in this house and my sister lives next door. I will gladly defend it and my country against anyone that tries to take it away from me or my family. The word American means something and it stands strong in my world.

Jim

 

[Colonialgirl]

One side of my family traces back to the Mayflower, They resided in PA BEFORE it was ever Named that; They fought in the Indian Wars and the Revolution that kicked the Brits out. My Grandfather's family were Irish from Dublin (Protestants) and were Barge captains, railroad engineers and Brakemen. Some were Coal miners.
My Mom's Family were English on Both sides (White and Munns were the family names).
My Aunt said I was qualified to join the DAR and I said , "NO THANKS" they were always OLD LADIES when I was in high school.

 

[willicd76]

Very well said bob

 

[Mobuck]

AMEN but I'm not exactly a church goer.
Five generations of my family are buried in the cemetery bearing my Maternal Great Grandfather's last name. I've never had a permanent residence more than 4 miles from that Cemetery. Never felt a need to be somewhere else for very long. I am what I am by my own choosing and I still feel this was correct.
ANYONE trying to take what's mine or stepping over what I consider the line in the sand will have to pay dearly.

 

[dweis]

I will never leave the USA. I have an investment in the country. Ten years in the Marine Corps, two tours in Vietnam, and one Purple Heart. As screwed up things have become I feel obliged to keep striving for a better America. Should things deteriorate to a SHTF situation this soon to be 81 year old is still healthy enough to fight, and I have lots of ammo.

 

[willicd76]

Very well said

I will never leave the USA. I have an investment in the country. Ten years in the Marine Corps, two tours in Vietnam, and one Purple Heart. As screwed up things have become I feel obliged to keep striving for a better America. Should things deteriorate to a SHTF situation this soon to be 81 year old is still healthy enough to fight, and I have lots of ammo.

I sincerely appreciate your service and your CONVICTION sir! Keep up the good fight.