Happy Birthday America From Your British Friends
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It’s hard to imagine that America was a former British colony really isn’t it? Talk about the ‘student’ becoming the ‘master’ eh? You kicked our butts out of there, created a successful wealthy country, bailed us out of two world wars – albeit we were doing quite well in the second one given the circumstances.
The late British actor David Niven claimed that in conversation with Churchill walking around the garden of a country house he, Niven, asked Churchill how he thought the war would go as we seemed to be virtually on our own. Churchill replied “Young man, I study history and mark my words, something cataclysmic will occur”.
Shortly after he made this statement Pearl Harbour occurred, the USA joined in and tyranny was defeated.
You were the first to the moon, the head of the queue in technological progress, make the best movies (albeit you also make crap movies and Britain’s best movies tend to be better), make brilliant TV shows a la Hill Street Blues, Friends, Seinfeld etc etc etc.
All in all America, even given a few Presidents getting you involved in illegal or unwinnable wars (Iraq / Vietnam) or failed invasions you’ve successfully negotiated the bad things like those along with prohibition, gangsters, drug wars, gang wars and pretty much anything else thrown against you.
You’ve even survived American Cracker, Saturday Night Fever, a ‘B’ movie cowboy President, a President who couldn’t keep it in his trousers – actually there’s been at least two of them, Al Capone, The Ku Klux Klan (albeit they’re still around so perhaps your still surviving them rather than having survived), and surprisingly more ‘difficulties’ than your average democracy I’d say.
You’ve survived all the above and much much more with your determination, pride, humour, courage and honour very much intact which speaks volumes of the country you live in.
True, there’s still much work to be done given your religious right and illegal immigration problems and, of course, the racism that still seems to permeate certain areas of your deep south but, America, you are admired by most across the globe for eternally fighting the good fight for the right of all to live in peace and freedom.
Your government might not always make the right call but that’s because your government’s not perfect. Who’s is?
As a ‘people’ however’, you remain, frankly, quite quite glorious.
Happy Birthday to you!
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Thanks Norman, but we are still toddlers bouncing around trying to find our way. All of the innovations we have are actually coming from people who immigrated here. There is one thing that is uniquely American, our arrogance. Our sudden rise to power through the industrial revolution and our ability to stay there because of military might may be short lived if our people do not wake up and realize that people with differing opinions finding common ground is the glue that put this country together. Also that capitalism does not equal greed and a lack of caring for others. It is becoming clearer every year that we may be reaching that point that every great world power reaches before they slide back to being mediocre.
Quoting “Winnie” he said, “The Americans always do the right thing. After they’ve tried everything else.” It becomes more true every decade.
Thank you, Norman – Neil – whatever the heck you think I should call you –
It’s kind of nice for you to list some of the difficulties that we managed to overcome. It’s too easy to get wrapped up in our current problems and tunes forget what we have accomplished and defeated. We’ll get through this, too!
Thanks so much Norman. You are a gentleman and I love your writings.