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I Spent the Day in America Today
I spent the day in America today.
The real America, a place where Americans live — where it is well nigh impossible to find a single person who hates America, who hates the Founding Fathers and who still call them Fathers, as they all in fact were, a place where there are American flags and references of one kind or another to guns and religion.
A place, in other words, which is definitely nowhere near the so-called “Clinton Archipelago” and is certainly not named New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Harvard, Yale, or Palo Alto.
A place, it might be noted, which was recently on the edge of the recent hurricane which, while not at the epicenter still received much noticeable damage. But, in this small town in actual America, in the restaurant where we had real, honest-to-God (and they — gasp — actually used that very phrase) American, of course, home cooking, neighbors were “visiting” with each other, as it is called in America, not networking, about damage to their homes and reassuring each other that all would be well. And, it will be — in America.
Not once did I hear a single one of these fine citizens grumble about the fact that “man-made warming” caused their losses and one got the distinct impression that if someone did, he would get very lonesome, very fast.
They simply don’t think in those terms — in America.
In the friendly, warm, welcoming restaurant where we had what must be the very personification of the phrase “down-home-country-cooking,” it would have been unthinkable for some “outsider” to come in and demand that someone leave because they were wearing clothes carrying the wrong message — like “God Bless America” or “America — Love it or Leave It”, or a message as outrageous as “Make America Great Again!” As a matter of fact, based on the size and build of some of the younger citizens I saw in that wonderful place, that kind of insulting, rude, and, dare I say it, uncivil behavior might happen once in that restaurant — but only once. And the types who tried to claw — literally — their way through the doors of the highest Court in our land would never, ever, ever come back for a second helping, of that I am sure.
And, along those lines, this was not a place for a certain former person in the higher atmospheres of the “leadership” of the FBI, as if Peter Strzok thought he could “just smell the Trump support” in that Virginia Wal-Mart, had he even been fortunate enough to get through the door of that restaurant, he might well have been knocked down by the support of, again, dare I say it, the purest perfume of Americanism either he or his fellow (?) FBI colleague, Ms. Page, have ever drawn through their olfactory senses. The citizens I saw today would teach Strzok and Page a whole new meaning of the phrase he used about the election of the President of the United States — “we’ll stop it” — one which might well have borne unpleasant memories for both of those swine.
In the America I visited today, the parking lots of the churches were full to overflowing and the towns were, for the most part, save the obvious scars left by the nightmare named Michael, lovely, well-tended, and quiet on a pretty Sunday afternoon.
This is the America in which My Lady and I were both raised and while I have read much lately about how America is finished — and even I have had those thoughts myself — what I saw today in the America I visited convinces me that the foundations our Forefathers built this great Nation on are simply driven too deep to be “fundamentally transformed” by Alinsky-ite Marxists wearing stupid hats and wailing at the sky like wounded animals.
So, if you’re getting a little, or a lot, down by the steady drumbeat of the San Francisco Democrats (look what they did to one of the most beautiful cities on the face of the earth) wearing their symbols of nuttiness like pussy hats, I have a little elixir which I hope will lift your spirits as they did mine this very day.
Spend a day in America! It’s a wonderful place!
Published in General
It never ceases to amaze me how the liberal supposed elite take the rest of us for granted.
Sound a lot like the America I live in every day. Thank goodness.
This is worth remembering every day, as a counterpoint to the bilge they try to feed us on the news.
No, I do not mind taken for granted. I don’t even mind the contempt. I do mind their un ending desire to tell us what to do. If they want to turn their cities into third world hell holes that is fine. Just stop requiring the rest of to follow their example.
Or to pay the bills for it!!
This is why we moved to an acre outside Glasgow, KY pop. 14,000 for retirement. It’s one more example of Real America where the people are so friendly and accepting it still amazes us 3 years later. Not accepting in the Liberal sense of being forced to celebrate weird lifestyle choices but accepting in the sense of, “Welcome to Barren County. We’re glad you chose to join us.”
And when we travel, I avoid the Interstates as much as possible just to stay in Real America where I always feel right at home.
The people of the North East look down on me because I am from the South. There is real, and enduring disdain of the South from the North East. Many of the people from NYC I have met are some of the most provincial people I have ever known, thinking the sun rises and sets on their city. I never used to believe in these sorts of divisions, until I went to college and met a bunch of people from the North East. Then I understood the contempt they had for me and my state.
The sense of “real America” vs. “fake America” is the very real dripping venom that flows from places like NYC towards “Flyover Country” and the South. When I am called “Deplorable” or “Wacko Bird” it is clear that is not an expression of love and affection towards a fellow American. Regardless of what people may do in Chicago or Palo Alto or what churches there are in NYC, the fact is, there is a heavy amount of disdain for fellow Americans coming from those places towards much of the rest of the nation.
I think, finally, what we are seeing is the reaction to that. The “deplorables” if you will, are finally responding with contempt of their own. They are tired of being told, by those in command of the culture, the universities, and of the entrenched governmental types that they are bigots, racists, sexist, stupid hicks. We are seeing a response.
I would prefer it, if as Americans, we would love each other as Americans. However, I don’t think that is possible for the left to do. Heck, I am not even sure, as Americans, they love America. I do not think things will end well.
I started a comment to reply, but I decided it deserved its own post. You can find it here:
http://ricochet.com/567133/i-spend-every-day-in-america-a-response-to-jim-george-2/
\sarc on\ Yeah! Let’s hijack Jim’s traffic!
\sarc off\
Beautiful, Jim. Thanks.
Totally not my intention.
@bryangstephens
My wakeup was even later. My dad was from the midwest, and he had none of that prejudice. However, his older brothers and sisters certainly did, and because he married my southern mother, our little nuclear family never had much to do with them, nor ever felt welcome to visit, etc. So I grew up with his tolerant views and some overlay of southern accent and cultural “flavor.” Yet to them, we must have still been suspect “tainted” hybrids.
Still, I thought of them just as old people and believed that most of the country was not like that. So, in the earlier days of the internet, I hung out on another board (Fark.com) which was supposed to just welcome amusing comments on news of the day, and at first it appeared to be mostly a joking around atmosphere, getting a lot of mileage out of stories like tanning mom and octomom, etc.
Then came the 2008 campaign. I was actually shocked at the anti-conservative and often pointedly ignorant and hateful views spewed out against a whole region I saw there, mainly generated by supporters of Barak Obama. I really didn’t know that the civil war was still being fought, but not by Southerners. It turned out well for me, since I searched for an alternative and eventually found ricochet.com But I remain very saddened by what I saw there.
Nice, Jim.
Real America doesn’t make the news.
Real America can be Republicans or Democrats. People who love their country and want it to succeed. People who can disagree respectfully (more or less). Real American is not OK with political violence. Would never try to chase someone out of a restaurant for having a different political view.
Real America exists in all 50 states. You just won’t find it on Twitter or cable news. Unfortunately as is often the case, the political class of lost touch with real America. They are ramping up the crazy people. If our politicians and media were a bit more responsible we might all see how common Real America is and how uncommon the crazy people really are. The loony extremes get all the press so it seems like there are more of them than there really are.
I think the sense of being under attack, all the time, because the left controls all the levers of power and megaphones is what drives much of it.
I spent most of today at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, just northwest of Boston, with my husband for various tests and consultations. The people who work there are of every skin color and ethnicity on the planet. They accomplish their work with the precision and excellence of a great symphony orchestra. We saw nothing but mutual affection and respect all around us. The idea that we are a racist nation is absolutely ludicrous.
Sweet. I am glad that is your experience.
Communists and racists are American too. There is this thing that conservatives do where Apple pie and decency are American but Bernie Bros aren’t. It’s all American. The good and the bad.
In a similar fashion, I object to the Yiddish term of Mensch. Evil men are as just as much men as good and decent men. The corrupt parts of America as just as much American as the decent parts.
So, why not make a really extra long comment here, since this is the topic at hand – thus giving the guy who opened this conversation the traffic.
Because it warranted its own post.
Jim George, your post evokes the wisdom, wit and humble honesty of Dave Carter who I consider the G-d of Ricochet. Zalena Zito is being villified, in manners that only the left can can use to villify, because she uses the tools of journalism to expose the decaying medium that journalism has become by describing in a journalistic forum what you have more poetically described. Thank you.
Then you didn’t need to mention it here.
Like I said, but without the sarcasm.
Well three things:
1. It was specifically a response to this post. It is not unreasonable that ppl who were interested in this post would be interested in the other one.
2. I specifically wanted to make sure the author of this post saw mine so he’d have a fair chance to respond if he wanted to.
3. I’ve done this exact thing many times before and it’s never been an issue.
Which, funny enough, is exactly the purpose of a comment. Even a long one.
Which has the effect of hijacking the enjoyment he would receive of the comments in his own thread. The easy back and forth, the reciprocal ‘likes’, the simple clash of thesis and antithesis. You know, I am given to understand that Ricochet is in the comment business.
If hijacking a thread to a non-topical subject is considered “bad form” so to should be the hijacking of a thread to a different, rebuttal post.
There are no words to adequately express how deeply I appreciated this comment, so I will not even try beyond saying:Thank you very, very much.
Sincerely, Jim.
There are some aspects of America that cannot exist without some of the corruption. What I mean is sometimes you need a bit of evil to appreciate the good. Who’s more American than Al Capone? Eliot Ness. But to your point, both count.
Jim ran into me in the comments the other day and thought I was maybe a little too optimistic. The real tragedy of the D’s in all the wild accusations and fiery rhetoric is that we let it get to us. Firing back is just what they want. They want us to join them in anger and fear…why take the bait? The person who complains at the water cooler just wants others to share in his/her unhappiness. Is that what we really want?
This piece is great because it is so present in a good moment, and it is a scene repeated throughout the states and even in the big cities. Conflict may take place in America, and those who cause it may be Americans, but maybe Jim’s point is the America that really works isn’t based on that, and it persists as strong as ever, just away from the headlines.
Dude, I literally did the opposite of hijacking the thread. Rather than derail the existing conversation, I created a separate one.
It’s you who are hijacking this thread, by the way.
One that argues against the very thing being argued here. That is called “antithesis” and is part and parcel to this thing we call “conversation”.
Which you diverted elsewhere.
Absolutely. A rebuttal is NOT a derailment as suggested, it’s part of the conversation.