Tonight as I was laying in bed, as is my custom, I let my mind drift and wander. Tonight’s wandering drug my butt out of bead and to the computer to write this post. I got to thinking about what my definition of a real American is. American is an adjective used by many different people to describe many different things, but I wonder how many of us stop to really think about what “American” is. Now I grew up in a small town in rural Wisconsin so my definition of a real American is going to be colored by that experience. Different folks will have different definitions based on their experiences.
In my book, a real American is a person, man or woman, that holds God dear, loves their family, and loves their country. They serve their country however they are called to serve, whether it be in the armed forces, in local rescue squads, fire departments, or police forces, or simply joining the workforce that powers the economic engine of this country. They value the freedoms that others paid for with their lives, and they tolerate no disrespect to those freedoms. They may not like you, but they respect your freedom to be the biggest jerk in the world if that is what you desire.
Some examples of real Americans are any veterans who have served in any branch of the military, whether during peace time or war. Real Americans include volunteers who give their time to help others, the rescue personnel, the fire fighters and the police that keep watch over our communities. Real Americans are those that put God and family before themselves, and real Americans are those that will stop to help a complete stranger on the side of the road.
Seems to me that there aren’t a whole lot of real Americans left these days, especially in politics.