Be the person your dog thinks you are.

That’s my advice for people, and for countries.  This is America’s 250th anniversary.  Everybody else is saying something about it, so I thought I should.  I’ve got nothing profound, just a bunch of little thoughts.

Sparky is quite judgmental.  He is not always right, but Sparky is always his best self.  It helps to have a really good dog.  Beagles are deep thinkers.  Sparky holds me in high esteem, and I attempt to live up to his opinion.  That’s not always fun or easy, but do your best.

Some might say that I’m privileged, and don’t understand their challenges.

To them, I say, tough shit, fuck you, get to work.

Privilege is a bullshit concept people use to excuse their envy.  Good fortune and making the most of what is available, are what makes someone successful.  I’m retired, and feel like everything worked out a lot better than a teenage me would have expected.

I’ve been fortunate, and recognize when the universe gives me a break that I didn’t earn.  Sparky is my first dog!  What luck that I got such a soulful character.

America is an exceptional country, and has gotten some unearned breaks along the way.  Whether God or the universe is looking out for us, it is hard to deny.

In 1755, George Washington was a colonel in the British army during the French and Indian War under General Braddock.  Braddock was killed and every officer on horseback was shot, except Washington.  He wrote to his brother. 

But by the All-Powerful Dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me.

A Native American who fought in the battle later stated, “Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet! I had seventeen fair fires at him with my rifle and after all could not bring him to the ground”

Whether that was a divine mandate from God or the universe smiling at the idea of America, who knows?  The one guy we needed to get America started, the guy who didn’t want to be king, was unbelievably spared a couple of decades before.

Some would say that Washington should not be admired, he owned slaves!

Tough luck, fuck you, get to work.

A litany of lucky breaks were necessary for American independence.  Even less likely, the American Revolution resulted in the most powerful  country in the world reaching it’s 250th anniversary.  Nearly all revolutions lead to starvation and immiseration.  See the French Revolution, Russian Revolution or Chinese Revolution.  Somehow, ours worked out.

America is fortunate to get the people we need, when we need them.  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and yes, I include President Trump. 

You can argue that one if you’d like, but the Occupy and BLM movements were devastating cities, trade policies had moved manufacturing overseas and open borders led to an influx of the lowest quality immigrants from around the world.  America was in decline.  Trump’s second term has been exhausting, but in a few years, when the dust settles, he will have done an astonishing amount of good for the country and the world.

America also attracted extraordinary people from other countries to live and do their best work here.  Alexander Graham Bell, Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein and Elon Musk are obvious examples.

Slavery is considered America’s original sin, but there is nothing original about it.  In 1700’s, when the Continental Congress was orchestrating the American Revolution, slaves and serfs existed all over the world.  A compromise was necessary.

When slavery became untenable, it was not a slave revolt that ended it.  The Civil War was fought by White soldiers to abolish slavery in the Southern states.  The Union Army consisted of 92% White soldiers who had nothing to gain by the abolishment of slavery.  The deaths of 360,000 Union soldiers absolves us of that original sin.

America has been fortunate so far, but there is no guarantee.  Pendulums return to equilibrium, but that isn’t true of societies.  It’s worth remembering that the Winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo in 1984, and 8 years later, a war started.  The city was under siege for 4 years.

Everything was wrecked.  Once you start killing your neighbors, it’s hard to stop.

Over the last few thousand years, there have been many powerful nations or empires, and they are all gone.  It’s easier to keep a small or unobtrusive state intact without changing the form of government.  Vatican City (1274) and San Morino (1600) are the oldest, then it’s USA.

Changing our form of government probably means another revolution, and we aren’t likely to get so lucky.

To keep America healthy to the tricentennial, there are a few principals.

  • Be careful who is allowed in.
  • Socialism and communism always lead to tyranny and bloodshed.
  • Islam is about conquest.
  • Defrauding the government is bad.
  • To solve a problem, free speech is necessary to discuss it.
  • People who hate America should not be in charge of anything.
  • Every citizen needs a path to a productive life.
  • Don’t leave a big debt to the next generation.

That’s probably a controversial list, and certainly not complete, but if we kept within those guidelines, Sparky would be proud of us.