I had the opportunity to grow up in a very culturally diverse neighborhood in Chicago, and was blessed with parents who taught their children to be respectful of ALL people, regardless of their nationalities, lifestyles, or religious beliefs. My fifth grade Science teacher was from Athens, our next door neighbors were from Barcelona, our neighborhood butcher was from Milan, I picked up taco’s for lunch at Cordero’s Mexican Caballero down the street, my first girlfriend was from Stuttgart, and the first blowjob I ever received was from a boy whose family originated in Kiev.
As open-minded as I became during those early years, the subject of World History always seemed to have a way of depressing my feelings about PEOPLE in general. I learned early-on that we lived on a warring planet, where brutal conflicts, bloodshed, and the lust for power, filled the pages of the history books, until I grew weary of reading them. The reason I’m sharing this with you is to emphasize the point, that when people of different nationalities and ethnic backgrounds start throwing stones and casting insults at each other’s Country, they are in fact announcing their ignorance regarding the Realities of Life to everyone in the room.
Regarding the subject at-hand: (what a concept)
My home of Chicago has 300 thousand Russian’s which constitutes the largest group of Russian speakers in the Midwest. Growing up there, I had countless conversations with Russian Americans. The first question a young kid asks another young kid who just moves in the neighborhood from another Country is always the same: “Why did your family come to America”? They always, without hesitation, provided the same exact answer: “FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY”. This included our Russian friends.
All a child has to do is pick up a history book and read about the needless wars and bloodshed that have permeated our planet from the beginning to see that every Country has been guilty of making mistakes, and is by-no-means perfect. So, whenever I hear grown adults tossing phrases around like: “Your Country did this” – “Your Country did that” – “My County is this” – “My Country is that”, I’m not sure if I want to cough, gag, choke, laugh, cry, vomit, or crap in my pants.
My father was right: “Be Proud of your Country, because you have every reason to be”. “And if that wasn’t the case, our neighbors would still be in Barcelona”.
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