Do I love America (USA)?

A few days ago, Isaac Saul sent out a personal essay titled Do I love America? through his newsletter, Tangle. I appreciate his thoughts on this country. And it got me to asking myself the same question. Do I love America?

Yes, yes I do. I love this country very much, actually. I love it in a similar way that I love my son, family, and friends. And very similar to how I love God. Not in that order, of course. I love God first and foremost. My son, family, and friends right after God. And then my country way down past a long list of other things I also love. But how I love the United States of America is very similar.

I don't love everything about this country. Just like I don't love everything about anyone or anything. We all have our weaknesses. The same goes for the good old US of A. She's 249 this year. She doesn't look a day over 239...LOL But this country sure does have a lot of problems. This year, well, things have gotten worse.

I don't see the end of this country coming anytime soon, though. What is going on right now will pass. Things come and go all the time. There isn't anything new under the sun. I see a day coming when this too shall pass. Things will get worse. But then things will get better. That's how it has always been with the USA since day one. All nations go through these things, actually.

So, I still love the USA. It is my home. I wish it wasn't so divided right now. And I wish people would be kinder to each other. People aren't being treated well and that makes me sad. And those who are arguing about the divisive issues aren't being kind to each other about it. Again, that makes me sad.

But there is still a lot I like about the USA. A lot of great music was born here. Things like baseball remain a great part of our national culture. Hotdogs aren't good for the body, but they sure do taste great. We have the privilege of worshiping and serving our God. And I'm able to write my thoughts and opinions in this journal without fear of being locked up for it.

As much as I don't like our government sometimes, the way it is structured allows things to ebb and flow back to good after the bad times. For example, the current president cannot run again. We still have a long way to go in his current term. But it will end and he will be replaced. Just like how he is trying to undo things from other presidents, future presidents can undo his stuff too. That's just how it works here.

We have Disney. Other places have that now too. But it all started here. The same is true with Universal. Nothing else in the world is so magical as those theme park experiences. I've been to other places. They aren't the same. And my international friends tell me their theme parks aren't anything like Disney and Universal. They vacation here or at their nearest Disney and Universal resorts...LOL All of that started here in the USA.

So, yeah, I do love America (USA). I'm not always proud of her. And sometimes I'm quite disappointed. But I still love her. I'll do what I can to make my impact on this country and the world by living here.

These are just some surface thoughts and feelings at the moment. There is more deep inside. There is a hope that things will get better someday with the bad things going on. My heart aches for those who are being hurt right now. This is drawing me to God. I'm praying...

A year ago, I was in California. I loved that trip and love thinking about all that happened. I'm glad I wrote about it in my journal. But I still vividly remember everything in my mind. I'm now planning my next California trip and have already started taking actions towards it. I'm very excited about getting to spend time with Cherie. It has been fun planning our vacation together. My heart is so happy ❤️

I've been consistent with posting a featured photo everyday on my Instagram and IG cross-posting to Threads and Facebook. For the first half of the year, I just put a date in the comment. Now that we are in the second half, I started including a little saying. It is similar to my Vitamin G posts. I suppose in a way that they are a type of Vitamin G. But it more like something I'm thinking about in the moment or theme of the day. I hope to include that everyday for the rest of the year.

Once again, the Bible study for this week is timely. When we take breaks, I wonder how the lessons will align in the future. Well, this lesson would have hit completely different before this week. I'm glad it came this week and hit the way it has.