Why I Love America?

Just had to share this with you all...
WHY I LOVE AMERICA
June 29, 2010: "I wrote this in 2007. A lot has changed in our country since then. But this "America" I love DOES still exist. I worry about "America". BobLee says we can still save "America". If you share these thoughts, maybe we can save it."
Posted by permission from Susan
http://www.sotheblondsays.com/Home/June-2010/Why-I-Love-America.aspx

I love the Bill of Rights - which defines the limits on government. Free speech means you can criticize the government and there is nothing they can do about it, absolute privacy and religious freedom were unique when the Constitution was written and remain rare in the world even today.

I love the rule of law - that it applies to us all, no matter our station in life. It may seem that the rich and powerful are treated better in the system, but in America the rich and powerful can and do go to jail from time to time while the least powerful and the poor have the right to confront their accusers, the right to an attorney, the right to remain silent, the right to refuse admission to government officials wanting to enter their home or office.

I love Wal-Mart and capitalism (the greatest economic ism of all.) Wal-Mart started as a one man rural, somewhat rinky-dink operation in Arkansas and grew to be the biggest retailer in the world because serving the customer served the business. That is how capitalism works. Socialism and communism claim to spread the wealth, but only spread the inefficiency and misery. You don't even have to shop at Wal-Mart to benefit. Their massive competitive presence in the retail world lowers prices for everyone.

I love baseball...it is the perfect democratic sport. ..... Anyone can play. Not in the big leagues but in the vacant lot down the street. You do not need to be big, strong, fast, smart, broad, tall, black, white, male, female, smart, rich to play. .....Anyone can play with minimal equipment.... Your individual excellence is just slightly more important then the group effort. Just like America...It is pure. Yes, ruined by money and fame and steroids. .... But at it's essence, it is pure and America.

I love that elections in America are contentious, messy, rancorous and maddening, but we vote without fear. And then a peaceful transfer of power takes place and nobody gets shot.

I love that America was one of the very first nations in the world to put an end to slavery. The story of slavery in America was no different than anywhere else except that we stopped a lot sooner. That needs to be mentioned whenever the topic comes up.

I love freedom of religion. I love my religion. I may not love yours or I may be indifferent to it. Doesn't matter. It is yours and you are free to practice it as long as it stays within the law regarding the rights of your fellow citizens. We don't really care for the sacrificing of virgins on a mountain top.

I love the upward mobility and self realization that is possible here. Poor men from towns with no traffic lights have grown up to become president. One day a woman will take the job and so will people of all ethnic backgrounds. Most millionaires did not start out wealthy. They make it on their own and they can do it because in America we have the opportunity to profit from our skills and effort.

I love how charitable Americans are. A recent report reconfirmed that Americans give more private money to charity than the citizens of any other country. We also give our time and expertise. When we give to disaster relief, as we did for Katrina, we know that some of it will be mismanaged, we give it anyway. A lot of it will help out, and that is what matters.

I love hot dogs and hamburgers and pancakes and popcorn and hushpuppies. American food.

I love that jazz, the blues, rock and roll, gospel and country music are all American, even though I don't know a lot about jazz, but love to hear it, and very little about the blues. I do know that without them the rock and roll I love would not be what it is.

I love that America's voluntary military is voluntary and powerful. Most armies are neither.

I love that I can hop in my car and go where ever I want and no one cares.

I love all the memorials in DC. But the WWII has this big fountain in the center where groups of school kids laugh and play around the fountain - carefree and happy. ..... Sitting on the benches, around the fountain you can see older men with their veteran hats on watching the children. ..... The kids are so care free because those men fought for them. It made me weep on the spot. I love that.

I love the regional differences we have...north, south, east, west, Midwest. While those differences are diminishing with technology, there is still a difference that you can really only know if you live in a place for a while. But yet, even in our differences we are still Americans. Different in so many ways, connected - a family.

I love that we are so free that we have the time and energy to invent things like iPods and iPhones and Viagra.

I love the flag. It is so simply beautiful to me. It is cheerful and optimistic. It is just cloth but such a hopeful piece of fabric.

I love that my daughter has so many options open to her. The sky is the limit and the world is her oyster. Her only limitations are ones she puts on herself.

I love that America takes care of the world. While we get little or no credit or thanks, often we get only criticism, we still do it. We are always there to help with all of our resources.

I love our history. The old fashion kind we learned in school before political correctness. I love all of those dead white men, who with all of their own prejudices and flaws, built a nation that affords freedom to men and women of all colors and creeds to a greater degree than, even they might have imagined.


Why do YOU love America ??

Fed up with those who hate America? Here's 1 cool solution ...

'What we've forgotten is how great this country really is.'
Posted: September 10, 2010
By Michael Carl
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Check out the entire article at: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=201337
Check out http://www.fallinlovewithamericaagain.com to learn more about the project.

A new campaign launching Sept. 11 is asking Americans to look past the political morass and economic uncertainty of today, and tell what they see: the novelty of natural arches in Utah's desert, an antique car in front of the Golden Gate bridge, a wild bear, their families, main street, libraries and downtowns, Route 66 and wheat fields, among just a few of the nation's attractions.

It's time to "Fall in Love with America Again."

The message is from a group of marketing specialists who are starting a multi-year, two-stage program, "Fall In Love With America Again." Group spokesman and Ramp-It-Up-Entertainment founder Dennis Gelbaum says the purpose of his campaign is straightforward.

"It's not brain surgery. We began to realize that with everything we hear in the news, with high unemployment, the failure of the banks and people stealing money from each other, and just the negative feeling about America all over the world, and in our own backyard, what we've forgotten is how great this country really is," Gelbaum explained.

The program, he said, is "really about embracing your love for your country, for America and telling stories about why you love America and what America means to you and your family, to your friends, your neighbors, your city and towns."

"It's really about sharing everything about America's life and about the fact that this is the greatest country on the planet and embracing that," Gelbaum added.

The program creators also include Evie Evangelou and Amber Roninger. They emphasize that the program is aimed at everyone.

The first phase of the program is the year-long window for the public to submit stories, videos, photographs, songs, poems, recipes, paintings and other forms of expression that communicate their love for the United States. After using the website to submit suggestions, Gelbaum said the contributors have to get people to visit the website where the work is published. A panel of judges will evaluate the work based on the number of hits the item gets on the "Fall in Love with America Again" website and the overall quality of the work.

Gelbaum adds that after the year-long submission and evaluation period, there will be a touring show. "This will be like no other touring show ever. It will be like a museum exhibit except that instead of just having an exhibit of great photographs about America, travelling with us will be the photographers of those shots," Gelbaum said. "Instead of just having a great painting about America, you'll actually see the artist. Instead of just seeing the film or video about America, you'll meet the stars, the producers, the directors and the writers," he added.

The program is being publicized first through the Internet and social networking media such as Facebook, Twitter and blog sites.

The project creators say that they're tired of hearing criticism about America, and this is their way of countering the negative publicity.

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released a study immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks that showed a balance of love and hatred for the United States. Most of the people around the world surveyed said they thought it was a good thing for America to feel vulnerable.

Public opinion surveys in the U. S. show a growing discontent among Americans about the country and its direction.

Pollster Scott Rasmussen says that Americans' negative opinion is mostly directed at the government."Americans are concerned about the future and many fear that our best days have come and gone. They are angry at the government and perhaps the most disturbing statistic that I've come across in all the years I've been doing this is that only 23 percent believe that our government has the 'consent of the governed,'" Rasmussen stated.

"In our American heritage, that's the only legitimate source of authority for our government. There's a lot of discouraging data there," he said. But he said, "Americans still tend to love their country and believe it's the best country on earth and think the world would be a better place if there were more countries like us."

"Most Americans think this is a great place but believe the government is out of touch," Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen points out that the anti-government feeling doesn't transfer into a dislike of the country.

"There's a lot of anger at the government. There's a lot of anger at both major parties. There's a lot of anger at the way things are played out with federal spending and taxes and deficits," Rasmussen explained.

"But, it is totally separate from their feelings about the country. The fact that people don't feel that their government has the consent of the governed is one of the key indicators that they see a big distinction," Rasmussen continued.

"There is a very strong belief in the country's founding ideals, in the founding documents and in the belief that we as Americans should be free to govern ourselves," he added.

Rasmussen agrees with Gelbaum, saying that there are many Americans who love their country and believe in the ideals of the country.

"Most continue to believe in American exceptionalism and most continue to believe that America is the last and best hope for mankind. There are many positive feelings about the nation itself," Rasmussen said.

Gelbaum believes that the media is partly to blame for the negative feelings about the country, because the media doesn't focus on the nation's strengths.

However, Gelbaum doesn't think his campaign is going against any prevailing trend.

"Everyone we speak to still loves America. Everyone we speak to is looking for a spark. Everyone that we speak to is looking for a way to take their voice and to have people hear them," Gelbaum observed.

"We are all frustrated. We are all angry and we are all disappointed. Yet, we all understand that we have done this to ourselves. In other words, there are lot of people who are pointing fingers, we're all blaming someone else. But we have to start taking responsibility for our situation," Gelbaum continued.

"This is an opportunity for you to say whatever you want to say. The goal is to tell why you love America and why this is the most important country in the world," Gelbaum added.

Rasmussen believes the Fall in Love with America Again campaign's ability to be a positive influence on the country depends on the perspective the campaign takes. "If the effort is to highlight and educate some of the key principles of our founding and to help us celebrate those, that will connect with people and perhaps reinforce those ideas," Rasmussen said.

'My American Family – Not a Hyphened Nation' by Darryl Tookes

Darryl Tookes, singer, pianist, composer, arranger, poet, educator, and humanitarian has joined the 'Fall In Love With America Again!' project as a participant, judge (original song, music video and short story competition) and goodwill ambassador.

"I am honored to be an official participant, judge and goodwill ambassador in this great new project: Let's all FALL IN LOVE WITH AMERICA – AGAIN!"
- Darryl Tookes, singer, pianist, composer, arranger, poet, educator, and humanitarian.

'Fall In Love With America Again!' (created by Evie Evangelou, Amber Roniger and Dennis Gelbaum) is an innovative, timely and important new documentary style web and mobile based interactive multimedia series highlighting stories from across America…our stories - about why we love America and why others need to Fall In Love With America Again!

Here's how it works - we are inviting everyone to have fun, be creative, entertaining and inspiring - tell us your story - told through short stories, letters, videos, photographs, original songs, illustrations, poetry, recipes and more. Post your work on the web, tell everyone you know (tell us too) where to view it, comment and pass it along to their friends. Our panel of judges will select the top ten winners (based on the number of views/likes/votes you get and the quality of the work...from each category. (Yes, this is a competition - we are looking for the next great American song, video, photograph, illustration…) The 'winners' - the work, the author, the artist - will be recognized through our sites/media and invited to join us on our National Touring Show and Exhibit.

For more information about the project, check out
www.fallinlovewithamericaagain.com/
and our promotional video at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1OGAVgiVD4&feature=player_embedded

For more information about Darryl Tookes, please visit www.darryltookes.com and see/hear Darryl at www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2izGbrnzXA

'My American Family – Not a Hyphened Nation' by Darryl Tookes
One of my young students once said that he has never written a song to, for, or about God. I thought about his statement for a minute, looked into the face of this gifted young man and replied, "I think every song you write is to and for God ... whether you realize it or not. Whether about a tree, a forest, a love lost, a love found." He paused, looking puzzled, pondered, and then smiled. Knowing.

People routinely recite and sing Irving Berlin’s "God Bless America, land that I love." We hear Kate Smith’s famous recording among many renditions during the 7th inning stretch. We see the bumper sticker. Do we think about this at all?

Yes, this is my home. My great-grandfather Tom Tookes was born in this land before the Great Emancipator freed the African slaves. He was born into slavery. I knew him, and remember him well. He was my pal. We went to basketball games together. Great-grandpa Tom talked, and I listened.

Like the folkloric genealogy found in many American families, my father’s racially mixed great-grandmother Martha Whitaker – Cherokee and European – helped to raise him in the pre-integrated south. The first high school graduate in his family, my father went on to success in college, graduate school, postgraduate and life.

My maternal side were northerners. Descendants of Freedmen, and literate. This was my mother and father. Before the word was born of sacrifice and pride, they were truly African Americans. Before the hyphenation. An American family –
My American family, not a hyphened nation.

My father and my brother were soldiers. The elder achieved the rank of sergeant in a segregated US Army platoon; the younger, a pilot with the rank of lieutenant in the US Navy – less than 30 years later.

This is my heritage – OUR heritage. Our America. To paraphrase Samuel Francis Smith’s “My Country, ‘Tis Of Thee,” America is the land where my parents died, the land where my children were born – in this wonderful place called freedom, justice, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I am an American, and I love my country. I am honored to be an official participant, judge and goodwill ambassador in this great new project:
Let's all FALL IN LOVE WITH AMERICA – AGAIN!

Darryl Tookes Falls In Love With America Again!

"I am honored to be an official participant, judge and goodwill ambassador in this great new project: Let's all FALL IN LOVE WITH AMERICA – AGAIN!"
- Darryl Tookes, singer, pianist, composer, arranger, poet, educator, and humanitarian.

'Fall In Love With America Again!' is an innovative, timely and important new documentary style web and mobile based interactive multimedia series highlighting stories from across America…our stories - about why we love America and why others need to Fall In Love With America Again!

Here's how it works - we are inviting everyone to have fun, be creative, entertaining and inspiring - tell us your story - told through short stories, letters, videos, photographs, original songs, illustrations, poetry, recipes and more. Post your work on the web, tell everyone you know (tell us too) where to view it, comment and pass it along to their friends. Our panel of judges will select the top ten winners (based on the number of views you get and the quality of the work...from each category. (Yes, this is a competition - we are looking for the next great American song, video, photograph, illustration…) The 'winners' - the work, the author, the artist - will be recognized through our sites/media and invited to join us on our National Touring Show and Exhibit.

When you post your work use this title format:
Fall In Love With America Again - (type of content ie Music Video) By (your name)

"Darryl is truly an inspiration and having him join us on our journey will make the experience even more special. Darryl will be one of the judges in the original music, music video and short story competitions." Dennis Gelbaum, co-executive producer, adds.

Darryl has recorded and performed with George Benson, Diana Ross, Sting, Leonard Bernstein, Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach, Quincy Jones, Carly Simon, Laurie Anderson, Dave Grusin, Gerry Mulligan, Patti Austin, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Steve Tyrell, and many others. In spite of these collaborations, Tookes’ style is completely original. He has what has been described as an “angelic” voice (NY Newsday), which along with his message of love, are at the core of who Darryl Tookes is an artist.

Studying physics in college gave Tookes a perspective on harmony that informs his
music in surprising ways. From his first hit single, Lifeguard, Darryl Tookes has been
seen and heard as a prophetic messenger of love and spirituality, essential elements in all of his songs. He has never wavered from this path.

Tookes’ voice has been featured on commercials for Coca-Cola, AT&T, American
Airlines, and the US Army, among others, and on the television show, Sesame Street. His
other television appearances include Late Night with David Letterman, Conan O’Brien,
Saturday Night Live, The Morning Show with Regis Philbin, Great Performances,
Everyday with Joan Lunden, The Joan Rivers Show, and NBC’s Today Show. He has
performed at the White House, and received a standing ovation at Carnegie Hall for his
duet with Roberta Flack.

An educator, Tookes is Adjunct Professor at the Tisch School of the Performing Arts at
NYU. He also mentors a growing number of private students at the Lagond Music School
in Westchester County, NY. Further, Tookes is a clinician, having taught master classes
at several universities and secondary schools. He has arranged for student a cappella
groups, and has been awarded numerous commissions for composing and arranging
choral works. In the realm of sacred music, Darryl Tookes is artist-in-residence at First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, CT, and is frequently an invited guest soloist at interdenominational services. He also performed Duke Ellington’s Mass with Jessye
Norman at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Darryl Tookes has participated in many charitable activities – concerts and recordings – including Arts for Healing, Best Buddies, A Better Chance, UNICEF, Hands Across
America, Songs of Love, Comic Relief, The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS/HIV Foundation,
Daniel Pearl Foundation, Rainforest Foundation, 9/11 Memorial, Fall In Love With
America – Again, and Fun In Learning Tutorial, and Creative Learning @ FPC. He is in
partnership with the global humanitarian organization, AmeriCares, serving as a goodwill ambassador, traveling the world to provide aid and crisis relief to victims of natural and manmade disasters.

For more than three decades, Tookes has been an active member of ASCAP, AFTRA,
SAG, NARAS, and AF of M. He served two terms as Chairman of the New York Singers
Collective, and three terms on the board of directors for the Society of Singers. Tookes was founding musical director for Black to Broadway. He is also musical director, pianist and arranger for Lesley Gore.

For more information about Darryl Tookes, please visit www.darryltookes.com

Why Do You Love America?

In addition to being a prolific author and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Elie Wiesel is a professor in the Division of Religion and Theological Studies at Boston University.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nwzchik/detail?entry_id=13385#ixzz0ySxFactg

Why do you love America? Here's one reason why I (and Elie Wiesel)
love America: "America stands as a living symbol of all that is
charitable and decent...a country in which every person is entitled to
dream of happiness, peace and liberty; where those who have are taught
to give back. America has always been about hope..." Why do you love
...America?

The 'Fall In Love With America Again!' project is all about you and why you love America! Share your stories, videos, songs, photos, illustrations, poetry, recipes - it's all about what we think America is, who American's are, how we see ourselves, and how we welcome the world to our home.

Check out this article by Elie Wiesel/The HyperTexts:
http://thehypertexts.com/Essays%20Articles%20Reviews%20Prose/Elie_Wiesel_The_America_I_Love.htm

Photo from an article which appeared in SF Gate, home of the San Francisco Chronicle.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nwzchik/detail?entry_id=13385

Kid Rock Was 'Born Free'!

(June 10, 2010 - Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images North America)



Share Your Reasons Why You Love America! Here's One - "I Love America because I got to see Kid Rock perform his new song, 'Born Free' on the CMA Music Festival last night on ABC! And "...the title track from the Detroit rocker’s upcoming album, has been enlisted by TBS as the official marketing theme for the network’s Major League Baseball postseason coverage." You gotta love it!

Check out this article from the Detroit Free Press, written by Brian McCollum at: http://www.freep.com/article/20100901/ENT04/9010333/Kid-Rock-s-Born-Free-to-be-MLB-play-offs-theme