The Advance

Issue date: 10/20/06 Section: Opinion

We are Americans. We live in America. It's a great place to live. It's such a great place to live that every other country in the world cannot measure up. This country has problems, but even though it does, it's still way better than every other country. Oh, yeah, and we have the American flag. Red, white, and blue, baby!

Now, let's take that close-minded perspective and smash it with the Incredible Hulk's fist, have the Human Torch incinerate it, and make episodes of "The Family Guy" and "Southpark" to satirize its existence as a tool to manipulate us.

We are told that our military is fighting a "War on Terror." A war against what, against whom? Terrorists. But, what is "a terrorist?" As nearly as I can tell, a terrorist is a person who fears and or hates our way of life and is willing to go to extreme measures to disrupt that way of life. My argument is not that terrorists hate our way of life, but that they hate us because we assume that our way is the only way. We hate them because we believe that their way is wrong. This sounds like misunderstanding. Misunderstanding typically comes from ingorance or from too much personal pride.

There is a reason that religions have preached against pride throughout time. Pride shuts us off from change. I hope that the reader will excuse my pulpitting, but it is precisely our American pride that is holding people back from being willing to accept us. Americans hold onto pride because they are afraid to change, and this does not mean just Republicans.

Our version of American pride is a negative thing because it blinds us to true understanding. Pride occurs when we think we are good enough as we are and we do not want to change. Change is not always a good thing; sometimes things should remain the way that they are, but pride makes us fear changes that would make us uncomfortable for a little while, even though they would benefit us in the long run.

There are infinite ways to live a fulfilling life, but I believe that the majority of those fulfilling lives stem from the desire to respect others as they are. This does not mean that people can't change; it means that people will change when they are ready.

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