America: We can Do It!!!!!

Let me apologize ahead of time if this doesn't make any sense or if it seems like I am rambling. I am just very sick of people's attitudes toward my country.....

Nothing makes me more angry than when I hear people say, "America isn't the greatest country in the world." I want to scream at these people. I want to punch them, I want to cry for them. Really? How could you not think that we live in the greatest country on Earth? Then I stepped back and put myself in other people's shoes. It was hard for me. Anyone who knows me, knows that first and foremost, I am patriotic. I did it though, I looked at this from a different view point. What I came up with was mind blowing for me.
Here is what I have realized over the last few weeks:


America really IS the greatest country in the world.

The problem is, we are no longer the greatest PEOPLE in the world. You see, America hasn't changed, we have. We have become a "me first" nation of people.We stopped holding doors open for each other, helping elderly or handicap people cross the street, and even saying please and thank you.
We let politics get in the way of caring about each other and trying to come to understandings with what other people are feeling, or saying.

Then a tragedy happens. All of a sudden we care. We become passionate. We start charities, and yell and scream and want to make sure the bad guy pays. We start arguing over what we think is important. Some people use the time to get on a soap box and start raving about how horrible our gun control laws are. While others complain because they are scared their second amendment right will be taken away.

I was born and raised in Colorado. I spent the first 18 years of my life in Aurora. I still can't get over seeing my home town all over the newspapers and news shows because some Idiot decided to shoot up a movie theater.
I was a senior in high school when the columbine shootings happened. Only 20 minutes from where I went to school.
I moved to Virginia after high school and was only two hours away from Washington DC on September 11, 2001. I remember being so scared when I heard the Pentagon had been attacked because it is so close to my current home. 
I live 2 hours away Virginia Tech and had friends who went there when the shootings occured.

I have close connections to each of these tragedies and not once did I think to myself "man we need to have stricter gun laws", after the event occurred. You know why I never thought that? Stricter gun laws are not going to stop criminals from obtaining guns. Stricter gun laws are not going to keep people from killing people. James Holmes had his apartment booby trapped and was planning on killing a lot more people. It wasn't just guns that were going to be used. Criminals always find ways to commit their acts. Smart criminals go around the system in place and find other criminals who can get them what they need. It's the same way people are able to obtain illegal drugs. "where there is a will there is a way."

My big question is, Where did we go wrong? I think I have the answer.

We stop caring after each tragedy, just when we need to care the most.

After the Oklahoma City bombing, everyone went crazy with American pride. Yet when 9/11 happened I remember working at Wal-Mart and selling out of American Flags fifty times over. Why? Why would people have to buy an American flag AFTER a tragedy happens? I was baffled that people didn't already own flags. .

What we need to make American people great again, is compassion. We need people who care ALL the time. We need to help those who reach out and we need to step in when someone needs help and may not realize it. We need better care for the mentally and physically ill, and the elderly.

There is not a doubt in my mind that I live in the greatest country in the world. There is however, pain in my heart for people who don't agree with me, because they refuse to look in the mirror and say "what can I do to make it better instead of complaining about how bad it is??"

So each day I will wake up with one goal in mind......do something nice for someone. Even if I only get to go out of my way for one person, I will do it.

p.s. It's an extra special day when I get to thank a military person!!!!!!!!