America as Reward

I love Jay Nordlinger’s stuff at NRO, and this I especially loved:

My next-door neighbor is a retiree who loves to travel. He and his wife took a trip to India just a few years ago, and found themselves in a smallish town or village. They were approached by a man in his fifties who asked where they were from, and upon learning that they were American he began to ask a number of questions. He had read the Bible and asked many questions about apparent contradictions. He had read the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and Democracy in America, and asked question after question about America and our customs. He was dressed rather shabbily, but spoke excellent English, and was an NBA fan!

As my neighbor and his wife had to get back on the tour bus, the conversation only lasted about an hour. But just prior to taking his leave the man said to them, “In my religion we believe that how we live in this life determines what life we will lead in the next, so that our rewards are not eternal but must be deserved again and again. I believe that you must have done something extraordinary in your past lives to have been born an American in this one.”

Do you feel grateful to have been born in America? Do you feel that being born an America has been a gift, whether you have deserved it or not?

I wrote yesterday “gratitude is necessary in order to have the experience of joy.” When you are born to something good, and you’ve had it all your life, you sometimes forget just how unique and valuable something is. A girl born on a 60 acre estate may not appreciate how wonderful it is to have expansive space about her until she is forced to live in an 8×10 dorm room. A man who has been chased by women all his life may not understand that love and sex are gifts until he finally finds the one woman who would never debase herself by chasing him.

We in America are born into something so good, we oftentimes don’t even appreciate it. We forget to say “Thank you,” for it. And when that happens, we are no longer able to take our joy in it.

It’s true of Catholics, too, in a way. We’ve got the Eucharist, and between it being taught so poorly, and the “everyday” availability of it, we too often lose sight of what is before us – the tremendous gift – Christ, Present – in every time-zone, at every hour, unto the ends of the world.

I am wanting to write about Advent, and things keep tripping me up, but check back, if you like. Perhaps by tonight I will be able to put it into words.

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. Michelle Malkin has a terrific round-up of links on it. WWII took years to fight, and many lives. And despite some of the surrender rhetoric of the left America is still willing to defend herself, and not appease what is evil. I’m grateful for it.