Thoughts on my America

America, land of the free. Home of the brave. At least that is how the saying goes. What is America to you? I can only answer the question from my own perspective. Of course, some here might not agree with my viewpoints. That is the beauty of the whole notion on what is to be an American.

In my bedroom, hanging on the wall is an American flag. It is not a big one to be sure, but this flag has a history to it. You see, this flag I took over to Iraq with me. At first it was folded into the traditional triangle and stuffed in my body armor whenever I went out on missions off post. Later, it would hang above my cot in the trailer I lived in at LSA Ananconda, a huge base outside of the city of Ballad, Iraq. That flag has meant a lot to me. Still does to this day.

It is a symbol of what America means to me — a veteran, a retired U.S. Army NCO who loves this country with all his heart, founded on the principles that all men are created equal. They are principles of freedom by men of vision willing to risk their lives during a time of violent revolution giving birth to land of freedom while breaking the chains of tyranny of the British empire. (I use the term “men” for both sexes.)

Back then, not all men were treated as equals. Slavery was entrenched deep into the heart of the nation, a black mark that left a huge scar when 80 years after the founding of America was decided once and for all. In what would prove to be one of bloodiest wars in U.S. history, the Civil War ended the horrors of slavery. But it would take a long time before all would be treated as equals, well into the 20th century with the rise of the civil rights movement.

The nation’s history is one that fascinates me to no end. It can be raw, heart-lifting and equally heart-breaking, full of pride for the struggles of the pioneer carving a life with sweat of hard work, the pain in the knowledge that most of Washington, D.C. (to include the construction of the White House) was built with slave labor. Or, the hideous way the Native tribes were treated in those years under the guise of “Manifest Destiny” right up to the 20th century is a shame and major black eye to this nation’s history. We must confront the dark side of our history while extolling its virtues. They go hand-in-hand, hopefully to never be repeated. Sadly, this hasn’t been the case in the past.

In spite of these flaws, the nation forged ahead correcting those problems along the way. Making the principles of freedom and democracy that made America the symbol of both to the world, a symbol that millions have flocked to for a small piece of the American dream.

This is a nation of immigrants. It has been since day one, from the migrations of tribal peoples during the last ice age thousands of years ago to the landings of the first Europeans more than 300 years past. People from every nation on this earth have been coming to our shores ever since, bringing with them their cultures, religions and traditions in a grand mix some call the melting pot.

So here is my view of what America means to someone like myself. First, America is full of natural wonders.

This is how I have seen them in my travels over the years: The blaze of fall colors painted on the leaves in a New England forest as seen from the road in autumn; the granite splendor of Yosemite’s Half Dome during sunrise from a small cabin in the park; the broken pillars that rise up from the ocean as surreal towers of rock and tree along the Olympic peninsula of Washington state’s coastline are best seen from the air — viewed from a Huey helicopter in my case, doors open. With James Brown on the NAV channel, we hugged the coastline, flying hard and fast weaving among these giants.

As the mighty Pacific Ocean smashes up against them with wave after wave of dark green seawater and white foam, the vast expanses of the Badlands give a beauty all its own to the desert that seemed to stretch out to infinity. Castles of sandstone, sculpted by wind, rain and blowing sand dot the landscape as our car drives though it all.

Humpback whales breach and fall back into the cold sea off the Alaska coast with ice-capped mountains as a backdrop to the whole scene from a ferry cruising from Bellingham to Haines.

These are just a few of the wonders I have seen. There are a lot more, but now I must speak about the other thing that is America to me. It’s people. Without the people, America would never be.

They come in all sizes and shapes, all colors of the human rainbow; rich and poor and everything in between. They bring the cultures and languages of their origins to the mix. They are of many political, secular and religious beliefs. With a variety of accents spoken, depending on the region — the quick clip of the New Englander to the slow drawl of the Texan, and what seems as no accent at all from a native Californian. All are unique to this country. Nowhere else can this be found.

Americans come from nearly every country on the planet, from being kicked out of England back in the 17th and 18th centuries to refugees from slaughter in Africa in the 21st. A lot have come from countries not from fear or reprisal, but to grow as families in freedom.

Freedom is the one thing that binds them all — freedom to read without censorship; freedom to speak out without reprisal; freedom to gather in numbers to peacefully protest; freedom to listen to music or to express oneself in music, written word or art; freedom to vote for who we think is best to hold office; freedom to gather and worship God if we want to or not without fear or oppression; freedom to live one’s life within the laws and principles laid out in the document that spell it out to all who live here — the Constitution of the United States of America.

But it is not a fixed piece of stone. It is a living, breathing thing. Alive as this nation is alive. It is not perfect, but it does work for the most part. It grows and evolves as we do.

“This we’ll defend” is on the battle flag of the U.S. Army. It is a saying that is in my heart as a soldier. Even as a retired one, I still try to live that in service to this country. Other veterans believe it, too, and paid the price to maintain the freedoms enjoyed. Just look into the eyes of one and you will know it. We all swore an oath to defend not only the nation and it’s people, but the Constitution as well.

This is also a nation of invention, innovation and industry; the harnessing of electricity and the light bulb; the invention of the telegraph and telephone; the first movies, television, radio and phonographic recording machines and players; the perfection of the assembly line that brought forth the Ford Model T automobile; the first practical airplane that launched an entire transportation industry that serves millions today; and the perfection of spaceflight that has put men on the moon and machines to the planets, and pushed the very first human-built spacecraft out of our solar system.

Now before we go on, not once have I mentioned exceptionalism and after this I will not write about it either. I do not believe in the notion of “American Exceptionalism.” I find it to be arrogant. It brings to my mind the image of the ugly American. I have had the sad misfortune to run into such ignorant people in my travels abroad. I have nothing but contempt for the entire concept of it. This a great country. I love it, but I will not treat people from other countries as second-class or second-place. All nations have their good parts and detractions. We have a lot to learn from many of them without being blinded by that kind of attitude.

We have our problems in this modern world, like the issues of immigration that rages on in Congress; gun violence and the debate about gun control verses gun rights to try to stem that violence; a polarized congress that only seems to be good at pointing fingers at the other party and gets nothing done; the economy that struggles to regain the losses of a few years ago; gay rights and gay marriage (which I do hope it is resolved in their favor.). These are just a few.

Another is trying to bring up our nation’s level of education from the dismal number of 27th in the world to No. 1, and some of our No. 1s that should knocked down to the triple digits or, better yet, extinction. Like sexual assault and crimes towards of children. This tells me we have a long way to go.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I believe this nation can find solutions to many of these challenges. I believe in America and all the good it stands for. In fact, I’m very proud to be an American, proud to have served as a soldier in the U.S. Army and retire from that service after 21-plus years.

And it is summed up by that old flag hanging on my bedroom wall.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.