I'm afraid "Real American" is probably real. There are several like him around here, those who think that the last shoulder added to a job is the one who did all the work and deserves everyone else's undying, complete, and vocal gratitude. While it is true that the allies were having a very hard time (can you tell I have British ancestry?) the fact is had the Europeans, Russians, and Anzac not been doing their best there would not have been a place for the U.S. to put their collective shoulder, and we couldn't have won it by ourselves. It was a group effort, and none of us should forget it.

I have an AFS student from Austria, and once, upon seeing a bank employee take down the flag at the end of the day, he said, "Now I love America. No one in Austria is proud of our country!" I must admit that I hope this is not true. But perhaps, we should concentrate more on LOVING our countries, appreciating what is good about the whole world, and doing our best to correct what is wrong.

That said, I am grateful to be an American. I appreciate that I live in this lovely area, surrounded by (mostly) wonderful people. I have also been abroad, and have seen other lovely places, populated by wonderful people. I am also aware that there are some very large warts on us, and that, as far as I know, my ancestors did not arrive here before about 1635. There are real Americans whose ancestors have been here MUCH longer. And while we have a wonderfully liberal citizenship policy, we do not treat many of our own very well. Perhaps, when we get the beam out of our own eyes, we can see to cast the mote out of out brothers'.

Kind of an aside, as a citizen of the U.S. where all children born here can be citizens, I was unaware that there are many countries where you can be a second or third generation resident, and still be considered a citizen of the country of your grandparents, even though, culturally, you identify with the country of your birth.

Peace,

CamiSu