Scotty Matthews & Associates
PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN COMPANY
I was born in the United States of America. I love this country, and I have served in the Armed Forces. I realize that there is a lot of America-bashing going on around the world these days, and some of it not without good reason. I am not happy with everything America's government is doing. They never asked me for my consent, and I believe that we should pay more attention to our own profound domestic issues.
I know a whole lot of Americans, and I find them to be generally good, caring, peaceful, hard-working people. My family has been here for more than six generations. My ancestors were from Scotland and England.
You know what America is? It's a small patch of land where some people live. It is neither any more or any less evil than any other country. I take issue with anyone who wants to blame all the world's problems on America's politics or economics. The problems in question were around long before America came into being.
Our country and our people have made enormous contributions to human culture, and the overall quality of life for most of the people on this planet, even if we do screw things up pretty well from time to time. My country is not perfect; my government is no more immune from corruption than any other. But I concur with Winston Churchill: "The American form of democratic government is by far the worst system in the world, except for all the others."
It's easy to criticize and find fault with just about any political situation there is, but violence only breeds more violence. We all live on this tiny planet, and we either need to get along with one another, or learn to ignore each other. Violence and terrorism have never succeeded in bringing about social change. If you believe in peace and harmony, I'm completely with you.
On the other hand, I think it is criminal for our government to send a military occupying force into a soveriegn nation without clear provocation. America's brave soldiers should never be put in harm's way unnecessarily--especially not for the purpose of fighting somebody else's battles. I think that for America's leaders to think that our military can bring about stability and peace in any Middle-Eastern country is laughably and woefully ignorant. I believe in American soldiers protecting people, not oil.
I am an American, and I am proud to say so. We're still trying to improve things here, from the bottom to the top. I believe that moderated, progressive change is preferable to revolution. We must make our own mistakes, and we must learn their lessons. I love this land, and it's people, and the principles upon which it was founded: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. After more than 200 years, we still haven't got it perfectly right. Maybe we never will, but we're willing to keep trying, and we will never give up the American Dream.
God Bless America, my home sweet home.
