A great American speaks out

I'm Having A Thought Here is so very honored and delighted to welcome esteemed -- nay, beloved -- blogging buddy, Sue Osborne of Nostalgic Nana, as author of today's guest post.

You may recall that Sue visited me in Columbia several weeks ago, and was the only one to (kind of) witness my distinctly unceremonious pashing to the cravement in Finlay Park. 

But enough about that humiliating chapter.

Bygones.

As Sue left South Carolina for what I certainly hope is not the first and last time, she asked me to guest-post on her blog, which I did.

I of course reciprocated the invitation, but was about to lose hope as weeks went by and Sue got very busy with her grands and her blog and all the goings-on way out there in Oregon.

But hallelujah! Last weekend she came through for me! We have liftoff!

And her words could not be more timely. Enjoy.

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Hello everyone, this is Sue, blogging for Jenny today.

I knew, the first time I read one of Jenny's posts, that we were two peas in a pod, going together like chocolate and hazelnuts, like sunshine and roses, like country music and conservatives. Sure enough, when we got together in her lovely town of Columbia a couple of months ago, there was not one dull moment.

Jenny asked, during one of our conversations, what the turning point had been for me in becoming an American patriot. As I've thought about it over these weeks, I realized my answer is probably fairly unique.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

Sorry, my English roots showing there!

Born in England, and educated there till I was eleven, I absorbed the opinion that there was no greater nation than England. And to be fair, they had a lot of which to be proud back in the '60s. My parents were of the greatest generation, the one that had fought against Hitler and won. I grew up on stories of deprivation, national pride, and cooperation that the Second World War engendered.

So when we moved to New Zealand in 1967, I still carried that British patriotism in my heart.

Perhaps for that reason, I never gave up my British citizenship. I lived happily in New Zealand for almost fourteen years with no particularly deep thoughts on national allegiance. I knew lots of Americans and thought of it as an exotic destination, rather than a great country.

In 1979, I reluctantly moved to America to marry my sweetheart. 

Let me clarify. 

I was not reluctant to marry, but to leave everything that was familiar, my friends and family. I was illegal for the first couple of years, I'm ashamed to say, but then I got my green card. 

I spent the next ten years barefoot and pregnant, paying hardly a whit of attention to politics. Sad really, because these were the Reagan years, and I missed them. 

Eventually, I applied for U.S. citizenship, but only because my sister and her family paid us a visit and fell in love with the country. They wanted to move here, so I became a citizen so that I could sponsor them. 

Unfortunately, it took eleven years for their number to come up. By then, their children were marrying Kiwis and they couldn't bear to leave them.

Right about this time, I began to home school my children. I finally learned U.S. history, all about the founding fathers and the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. I began to appreciate the uniqueness of this great nation and how easily we could lose the freedoms which we enjoy. 

Then, on September 11th, 2001, as I sat in tears, watching the towers fall, something changed. Like so many others, I found it incomprehensible that we could be hated so fiercely.

WE.

The more the political machine attempts to make this country just like the rest of the world, the more I appreciate America's uniqueness. I have begun to fight these machinations in any way I can. It has become, not just the right versus the left, but good versus evil. I really believe this. 

In a few days, we shall see whether there are still enough good people in our country willing to stand up for all the lofty ideals that the United States of America should embody.

I am posting on my blog some thoughts from a Canadian friend of mine, who has lived all over the world. He will speak to what makes America the greatest country in the world. He has some interesting things to say, so come on over for a visit if you're interested. 

I hope, crossing my fingers and my toes and my eyes, that tomorrow will be the beginning of sea change in the course of our history.

My stomach has been in knots for days.

How about you?