Happy 4th

I've been noticing how many political bloggers amuse themselves by trying to convince us that the United States is the most evil, corrupt and iniquitous nation in history. In short, most everything that's been wrong in the world for the past 200 or so years can be traced straight back to our doorstep.

The more these hate-bloggers link to each other, the more audacious their suspicions become. Some of the claims for our collective guilt are so outrageous they don't seem intended to be taken seriously. After all, insulting America is a fun, and fairly safe sport.

For my own curiosity, I'd like to see one of the Hate America First bloggers name one country anywhere in the world, at any time in world history, that could be reasonably argued as having been, in sum, a more desireable place to live for all its people.

In the meantime, I'm grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and too-often take for granted.

Instead of hunting ghosts from our past, I'd like to see the same amount of zealotry that's been devoted to criticizing the US focused instead on ending mass rape in the Republic of Congo, genocide and slavery in Sudan, and religious persecution in Eritrea, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

Or would the America Haters think that's too dangerous, and not as much fun?