Pride vs. Appreciation

It’s been a few days now since Michelle Obama told an adoring audience that her husband’s likely Democratic presidential nomination has finally given her a reason to be proud of her country.

There were many howls of surprised outrage from America’s conservatives — not that many of them genuine (shocked ... simply shocked and dismayed!). Face it, it’s not a big secret that the Left detests pretty much everything that has made the United States what it is: free markets, individualism, faith in God (or at least faith in something better than government bureaucracy) … etc. For people of this ilk, calling America the “Great Satan” would be libelous to Lucifer … if they actually believed in the Devil.

No, the protestations were aimed at getting the attention of the politically non-aligned Oba-maniacs who mistakenly believe the rigidly ultra-liberal, half-term Illinois senator is some kind of post-partisan messiah — ready to lead us all to the land of milk and honey. Obama is such a gifted snake-oil salesman that rather than attacking him directly, his ideological opponents are attempting to tar him with guilt by association instead. They eagerly point out that his wife isn’t proud of America, or that his church named Louis Farrakhan “Man of the Year.” (As I just did.)

But what about this “pride in one’s country” comment itself?

And if I ask myself if I’m proud of my country, I find the answer is complicated.

On one level, the easy answer is “yes.” I’m proud that America is first to respond to natural disasters wherever they occur around the globe. I’m proud that the only flag implanted on the moon is the Stars & Stripes. I’m proud that our nation rescued the world from the Axis powers. I’m proud that our comparatively limited government — for all of its frustrating short-comings — is a still the best on Earth. Honestly, this list is endless. I guess I’m most proud of the fact that we sincerely try to live up to our ideals.

But this pride is rather like how I feel when Auburn wins a big football game. And the similarity makes this concept of pride seem a bit shallow. So I wonder what “pride” actually means.

I think a better word is “appreciation.” And there’s a lot that must be taken into consideration when you fully appreciate something. What makes a proud moment possible?

A lot of it is individual effort — to the point of self sacrifice (like storming the beaches at Normandy or when the space shuttle Challenger exploded). Less spectacularly, Thomas Edison’s "90% perspiration, 10% inspiration" formula for success seems to sum things up pretty well.

Well, just so long as she's proud ...

I also appreciate that if you work hard and play by the rules, you will usually do okay in this country. I appreciate the freedom to think “unapproved” thoughts that leads to innovation. I especially appreciate that I don’t have to agree with other people just for the sake of agreeing.

In a nutshell, what I most appreciate about America is that it provides me with the opportunity to earn pride in myself.

And what troubles me most about an Obama presidency is that what he most wants to "change" is the very thing I appreciate most about this nation.

And I’m not ready to give that up just to make his wife proud.

"Oh My God! Look Out!"

The other day, I had a conversation with a client/business associate/friend (I have complicated professional arrangements) in which he expressed concern over the effects of a potentially worsening economy on our businesses.

My attitude was, and remains, fatalistic. But in an effort to be a bit more reassuring than “que sera, sera,” I pointed out that this is a campaign season and political candidates are naturally going to hype any bad economic news to their potential advantage. I also noted that the official requirement of recession is two consecutive quarters of a shrinking economy. We haven't even had one yet.

Mistaking my apathy for optimism, he hoped I was right but remained worried.

Though I didn’t bother going there in our discussion, I could have pointed out that the news media is never satisfied unless they have impending doom of one sort or another in the headlines. There would be a lot unemployed reporters in Heaven.

Actually, we are all fatalistic, and we have a word for people who aren’t. We call them “crazy” or perhaps use a fancy phrase like “obsessive-compulsive.” You know, like people who wash their hands constantly because of germs, or folks who won’t throw anything away because they may one day need it. Even those poor souls know they can’t deal with everything in the world that could turn out badly, so they focus on one specific potential problem to exert control upon. That way in an uncertain world, they head off at least one possible difficulty.

Have you ever stopped to think about everything that could go wrong in a typical day? Let’s assume you don’t die in your sleep due to a house fire, brain aneurism or meteor strike. What if your alarm clock fails to go off and you’re late to work? Maybe not the worst thing in the world, but such an occurrence could lead (directly or indirectly) to unemployment and financial ruin. It’s the old “for want of a nail … the war was lost,” scenario.

If the alarm does go off, you could slip getting out of the tub after your morning shower, hit your head on the lavatory and drown in the commode. You might be in a car accident in which your gas tank explodes and if you survive you might be horribly disfigured for the rest of your life.

Not related to any specific timeline, your spouse might fall in love with another person, leaving you emotionally devastated. Deadly cancer could strike friends, loved ones, or yourself. The tiniest scratch might open your body to invasion by flesh-eating bacteria.

The fact is, you don’t have to think hard to come up with something terrible that might possibly happen to you or someone you care about at every single moment of every single of day for the rest of your life.

Most of us don’t even think about it, not that it would do us any good if we did. We play the odds that the alarm will go off, that we can take a shower without incident or that we’ll make it to the neighborhood grocery store unharmed.

And that's just the direct threats. A worsening economy may or may not actually affect any particular individual. The worst recession during my lifetime was in the early 80s. The unemployment rate reached 10.8 percent. That means nearly nine out of 10 people still had jobs. As far as an actual “death toll,” there probably was one, but it was likely considerably less than the number of people killed in highway accidents over a Memorial Day weekend.

There is a lot of anxiety in this world. It’s because, as we travel down the highway of life, we all seem to have someone sitting next to us constantly screaming, “Oh my god! Look out!” Even if these shriekers don’t cause you to wreck, it’s all very nerve-wracking.

I believe in defensive driving. I keep my eye on the moron at the intersection who’s yakking on his cell phone, or the old lady with her turn signals blinking for miles on end (apparently preparing to make a left turn in the middle of the Howard Frankland Bridge). I see the person coming up behind me at 70 mph in a 40 mile an hour zone (and dutifully speed up to keep him from passing). But those are all threats that I can see.

What I’m not going to do is worry about the drunk driver who may or may not be coming over the hill, or the 10 year-old who may or may not have decided to take the family car out for a joyride. That’s what safety belts and airbags are for.

Do I have the necessary “safety equipment” to deal with loss of income that might result from a bad economy? Nope. But lacking the means, wit or ambition to acquire such protection, I choose not to worry about it.

Like 99.9 percent of the time (or more), chances are I’ll be okay.