Category: Patriotism

Ten Things That Make Me Proud To Be American

Good Stuff, Patriotism

Inspired by the Brit list, here is mine.

In drawing up my list, I hearkened back to my travels outside the U.S., and asked myself:  what were the things I missed most whilst Over There, and what were the things I was glad to have or see when I returned?

My Top Ten (in order):

  1. the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
  2. the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
  3. the notion that what isn’t expressly forbidden, is allowed
  4. checks and balances on government
  5. the freedom to succeed or to screw up (and then to try again)
  6. a jillion TV channels
  7. huge pickup trucks
  8. restaurant- and other choices
  9. rodeos
  10. interstate highways

The first five on the list are self-evident, especially as they are almost universally absent from foreign countries;  and I’ll talk about that in yet another post because it deserves a longer exposition.

The last five points are personal, but important.

Only when your TV is confined to a few (usually State-controlled) channels do you realize how nice it is to have a choice — even among dreck.

Large pickup trucks are lovely — they are powerful, not really necessary (unless you’re pulling a large trailer or farming) and one of the things that tourists comment on the most.  And the fact that pickup trucks are by far the most popular choice among ordinary Americans says it all.

Drive along a non-U.S. highway with a gnawing hunger and see how hard it is to find a restaurant of any description along the way.  Granted, our choices are often only from the Usual Suspects (the top 30 chains), but at least there’s a choice.  In Yurp, you often have to go into a town to buy food, which is okay if you’re a tourist, but it must suck if you’re a local.

Nothing says “America” like a damn rodeo:  tough people doing a dangerous thing for fun.

It’s only when you’re trying to get from point A to point B without having to go through C, D and E that you appreciate the freedom associated with our highways.  Now, as  rule I myself try to avoid the stupid things as much as possible;  but when you need one, it’s there for you to use.

Conspicuously absent from my list are things that are uniquely American, but that don’t touch me:  the Grand Canyon, the Empire State Building, Broadway shows, the Rocky Mountains, etc. etc.  Landscape features are just things — the Grand Canyon is a large hole in the ground, the Hoover Dam is a chuck of concrete, every country has a Broadway, the Alps are just as stunning as the Rockies, and so on.

But a busy shooting range and gun show (see point #1) are so much more American than anything one may find elsewhere, and ditto all the other related stuff in each point.

Proud To Be Murkin

Good Stuff, Patriotism

So, prompted by this silly survey which asked Brits what made them proud to be British, I ask of my Readers:  what makes you proud to be an American?  (If you need any kind of inspiration, follow the link to see what kinds of things the Brits suggested.)

For once, by the way, I’d urge you all to shed your (well-founded) gloom and pessimism about the current state of affairs under Biden and his bunch of filthy Commies, and think of the good stuff — and there’s lots, let me assure you.

Keep your list to the top 10, unless you can’t.  My own list will appear tomorrow.

Black Eye

Patriotism, Politics

As the Hungarian presidential elections grew closer, the polls showed that strongman Viktor Orban’s support was slipping as the public were reportedly growing tired of his nationalistic policies.

Except of course that it was all bullshit, as Orban won going away.

The working class of Hungary have spoken. The people are not going to stop supporting Prime Minister Viktor Orban, their grandfatherly, pragmatic economic nationalist and populist leader.

Needless to say, according to Sundance, the Swamp was unhappy:

However, the U.S., NATO, Globalists, World Economic Forum and western alliance group, run by and from the CIA/State Dept operational headquarters, are not happy. Not happy at all.

And the Grauniad says:

While votes were still being tallied, it appeared clear that the question was not whether Fidesz would take the election, but by how much. With nearly 75% of votes counted, it appeared possible that Fidesz would win another constitutional majority in the 199-member parliament.
It has previously had a two-thirds supermajority that has enabled it to radically restructure the country’s politics and social policies during its 12-year reign, transforming Hungary into a self-styled “illiberal democracy” that has flouted western norms and frequently been at odds with the EU.

Suck on it, assholes.

Not-So-Far

Elections, Immigration, Patriotism

Here’s a handwringing article which should make us all chuckle:

How France embraced the far right

At his rally, Eric Zemmour outlined his plans to create a political party called “Reconquest”, referring to the historic period known as the Reconquista, when Christian forces drove Muslim rulers from the Iberian peninsula.
Mr Zemmour is campaigning on a bizarre zero immigration policy and has frequently come under fire for his anti-Muslim comments.

Am I the only one who thinks that a zero-immigration policy isn’t bizarre?  (And I’m speaking as an immigrant myself.)

All I know is that somewhere in the ether, Charles Martel is smiling.

Conservative Stuff

Conservatism, Good Stuff, Patriotism, Resistance

One of the socio-political dichotomies we conservatives face is that while we are often described (in our “Republican” guise) as the party of the rich, the fact is that while there may be a few wealthy conservatives, the vast bulk of us are in fact middle-class, nay even working class (as defined in American terms).  Donald Trump saw this, and tapped into the latter:  the non-rich, conservative and intensely patriotic folks who are exemplified by Readers of this website.

And we are all familiar with the efforts of the ungodly (Leftists, Commies, Wokists — you all know who they are) to censor, muzzle, “cancel” and otherwise stifle our ability to function in today’s world, whether it be by woke banks not wanting to facilitate the “wrong” kind of financial transaction (e.g. buying guns), or media groups not wanting our voices to become public (Facebook bannings, YouTube censorship, de-hosting Deplorable websites such as mine*, etc.) and similar bastardy.  As I said, you’re all familiar with the situation so I’m not going to catalogue their misdeeds.

Once again thanks to Insty, I’ve stumbled upon an alternative which may help us sidestep the Left.  Read this and feel relieved (as I was) that we may have a way out of this mess.

I was particularly impressed by this company (despite its name**) which gives us a chance to help a truly American industry.

So I’m going to see what happens with New Founding, and I’ll let you know.

*Nobody has tried to silence me — yet — probably because my readership is too small to bother with.  Let me assure you, however, that should that day come, Tech Support II has a backup plan which could be enacted within hours, and I’d be back in business, so to speak.

**As a devotee of side-by-side (as opposed to over/under) shotguns, I hesitated a bit, but never mind.