Frazz by Jef Mallett for May 30, 2012

Nab — when I was a teenager in Wisconsin I found and saved maybe a dozen 5-and-up leaf clovers… I’d put overlapped layers of Scotch tape on both sides.They stayed green for ages but eventually turned brown…probably still have some someplace.What I discovered was that certain lawns or just patches of grass repeatedly produced more four-leaf clovers and sometimes ones with 5, 6, or 7 leaves.

Gato — we’re mostly VERY lucky here…20% of the world population has no electricity, millions have no shelter — even if they do back-breaking labor all day.Even the homeless in the US can mostly find something to eat… they seldom starve or freeze at the rate it occurs in underdeveloped countries.Those who lost their jobs and houses in the last few years seldom died from it, hard and sad as it was and still is.If you have any sort of roof over you, and you ate dinner… believe me, most of the world thinks you’re lucky.

Other than suffering from a bunch of essentially “middle-aged white male” caused issues, those of us fortunate enought to have been birthed in the United States of America through no action of our own should be feeling pretty darn lucky.

…which is why I’ve always been uncomfortable with Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” becoming a sort of informal national anthem. I feel lucky, fortunate, thankful, even perhaps blessed to have been born in this country, But proud? Pride implies you did something, and far as I know I didn’t engage in any pre-conception contests to assure that I’d be born in the richest country on earth. I just got lucky.

Luck is the crossroads of opportunity and preparedness…

Another beef wIth “Proud to be an American” is that its main lyric actually makes no sense. The line is “I’m proud to be an American, where at least….” The problem is that “an American” is not a “where,” it’s a “what.” So the statement should be “I’m proud to be in America, where at least…” It could even say, “I’m proud to be from America, etc.” We’d sound more intelligent, and that would be a good thing.

No matter how bad my day is going, I remind myself that I’m still doing a lot better than a least 5 billion other people…

When I was about 6 or 7, I found a 14 leaf(let) clover. I don’t know what ever happened to it.

Not exactly so, Red. Most countries are like this: France=French, Spain=Spanish, Italy=Italians, etc. However, here in the “new world” our countries have more complicated names because we are a bunch of self-governing entities united under one central government. And because we humans like to keep things simple, we have shortened the names. Thus the people of the United (?) Provinces of CANADA are called Canadians, the people of the United States of AMERICA are called Americans, and the people of the Confederated States of MEXICO are called Mexicans. So it might look like U.S. citizens are pre-empting the name, it is simply a matter of the human desire to keep things simple. Unfortunately there are too many people around the world who tend to think U.S. citizens are being exclusive or chauvinistic when we call ourselves Americans.

I had just the opposite experience. I have several friends in Canada, and once one made a comment about “you Americans”. I said, you know, Canadians are American, too, as are Mexicans. This took her totally by surprise. It had never crossed her mind to think of Canada as an American country.

I’m with the gang that thinks we’re mighty damn lucky to be here. Furthermore…I’m GLAD and GRATEFUL to be American…having been a Green Beret and worked on more election campaigns than I count…not always PROUD.

Please don’t get me wrong…I’d hate that…the government is quite likely the BEST in the world…EVER…but I know Machiavelli and a few things that have been done in our name(s)…there’s a few things that maybe even my furtherest-right fellow citizens could agree with me that weren’t RIGHT nor necessary to do and yet were done…

My country, right or wrong…where wrong, to make right…and on THAT we can agree. I opine that the Tea Party is a loose movement…to put it politely…BUT they ARE active and doing what they think will make it better…which is admirable. Well, SOME of them think they’ll make it better for most of us…well, I hope so…

America (not to be confused with Amercia) extends from Ellesmere Island to Tierra del Feugo. USians has been used as a specific. United Staters won’t work because Mexico, Brazil, Malasia, and probably a few others have United States (in some language or other) in their official name. I have mentioned this to Canadians on several occasions and have gotten a grudging agreement.

Republico Federal de Etates Unies de Mexico (spelling not guaranteed)