86. American Initiative

            While sometimes it gets us into trouble, Americans are imaginative and confident. We are the people who invent things and put them to use. Yes, others take what we start and run with it, but we imagine and create it.

            Most of us drive cars to work or on vacation. Henry Ford was as American as it gets. And then there is the airplane. Or what about that phone you now carry in your pocket? These things were all invented by Americans. Like the automobile, many of them have very specific people behind them: Orville and Wilbur Wright and Alexander Graham Bell. But others are just collections of people working together. Things like Teflon, the internet, and nuclear weapons were invented by teams of Americans. Americans take initiative and they don’t give up. So in spite of our almost severe individuality we still work together for common goals.

            This is something I love about my country and living here. And I never really considered that I, too, have this sense of being able to get things done. It’s human to just want to give up when things seem daunting. It’s American to say no to that and to look for help or just pull up our boot straps and do it. Now don’t get me wrong: before being American we are first human so we, too, will give up. But there are enough of us around that we won’t usually accept that from one another.

            So more than any other aspect of being an American, that sense of imagination and confidence in our lives gives me a great sense of pride. Sure we’re anything but perfect, but we try to solve those problems we seek out help. That’s what being American is all about. That’s why I am so proud to be an American.