If not America first, then who?
By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist
Actually, in the whole universe of bits, pieces and spirituality, I would hope you would say Jesus Christ is first, but in this column we are talking about politics.
A person who is very vocal about what a poor choice the United States is for your “first” is Ilhan Omar, the congressional representative from Minnesota’s 5th District. She ought to know – her family fled Somalia during the civil war there (sarcasm). That is obviously a better environment than the United States (more sarcasm).
Not to pick on her, there are plenty of others with a megaphone who express the same feelings.
Really? Just what about America is so bad? I can only think of one other place I would put on the same footing as the United States – the city-state of Singapore. Of course, you don’t want to be caught there with chewing gum. Remember the case a number of years ago where a young man from here was caught in Singapore with chewing gum? They “caned” him.
You can eat off the streets in Singapore, they are so clean. However, I don’t think you could expand the fastidiousness of a tiny place like Singapore to a vast area the size of the United States.
If you were born here, grow up and want to be a politician who changes things, I would advise you to start with an extensive tour of other countries. Don’t just hit the tourist spots on top but dig deeper to see how they really function. I suspect such an examination will take about a year, and you’ll need to budget about $100,000.
If you came here, legally became a citizen and want to be a politician who changes things, I’ll ask you this: Why do you want to be here? If you are so disappointed in your choice, why not go somewhere else?
We have this same problem on the local level here in Duluth, Ga. Our city council now has several members who are legally here but grew up in some other country. Almost universally, they want to introduce policies and concepts from their homelands. I have an idea: Why don’t you go back to the place where those ideas are already established?
What I find most amusing are the folks who have come here that don’t like others that have come here.
I go to a Palestinian barber. I recommended restaurants to him – one run by Iranians and one run by Venezuelans. We frequent them both (and many others here – Mexican, Chinese, German, Italian and so forth – all within two miles of our home).
I asked my barber for a report on the restaurants. He liked the Iranians (which, ironically, run a Greek restaurant) but he didn’t like the Venezuelan pizza joint. Yes, the food was nice, but he couldn’t get along with them. Are you kidding me? The Venezuelans are very nice people.
America first. If that is a problem for you, find a way to leave.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.