Dear United States... I'm judging you.

ohhh Harry. I went to one of his concerts as my birthday treat about 10 years later. <sigh>

Yes. I could understand her (and your) response.

I also took her to see a production of The Wiz. At one point in the show (and the pacing/choreography of it was sudden) a black dancer (playing one of the flying monkeys) moving fast with an incredible athleticism, grace and sexuality shot out from behind the curtains on one side of the stage. My mother gasped. Audibly. And she wasn't the only one.

sentimental ps... I miss that lady

Disagreeing with someone's tone and misdirected anger has nothing at all to do with disagreeing with criticism of the US.

There is plenty to criticize about the US, I avail myself of nearly every opportunity to do so, that does not make all forms of criticism of the US equal or productive.

A college degree doesn't even mean that one can study, or is intelligent. It means that one can regurgitate the lectures/readings assigned. If one is intelligent and/or creative, that means one's dna came from someone, in one's ancestry, that also had the ability to solve concerns with intelligent thinking. Yes, dna; regardless of race, ethnicity, religion.

Your antipathy to the election results seem to ignore that most countries do not think anyone that wants to live there can just come and stay. What makes the U.S. a world-wide Grand Central Station, so to speak?

In my opinion, Trump's orientation might be based on the U.S. not footing the bill for protecting the rest of the world anymore, so certain countries do have to spend money on defense, and can then not claim the moral high ground with all sorts of social safety nets. It costs money to have one's own military defenses.

It was a gift from France.

Anyway, prior to 1850, when the country was basically Black slaves and white Protestants, the motivation for those white Protestants to come to the U.S. was not (after the initial Pilgrims, Puritans, etc.) religious freedom, but the availability of cheap land, the Europeans being the losers in the European social class game in Europe (owned no land). So, they came here for land, which made them landed gentry of sorts. And, when the ethnics came en masse after 1850, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, they (the white Protestants) were raised to the Managerial Class, while the white immigrants from European manned the assembly lines.

Now there are people coming here that want to have all sorts of equality, when prior generations had to earn their equality. But, if they want to play the capitalistic/working class game of this country, fine, I say. However, I think they should just value America for what it has been for generations of families. Naturally, Blacks have a different narrative, and if you don't know the following, white Protestants are the mentors of Black Americans, and white Catholics are the mentors of Hispanic (Catholics). That's straighht from some sociological reading.

And, now that you are a land owner don't forget that the poor, disenfranchised that come to the developed nations may be voting for socialist parties, they being the proverbial late bird (only early birds catch the worm). And, in my opinion, it's not a far throw from socialism to Communism, where there is no private land ownership. So, I would be wary of newcomers that are poor and might think they are too late to compete in a capitalistic system. Just my opinion. And, lastly, some of your fellow neighbors in your new rural environment might not all agree with your politics. Just a thought; I could be very wrong. Have an old fashioned Christmas.

When we moved back to California in lots of trouble for reasons too complex to explain, circa 1955, a rich aunt (another long story) took us young cousins, not all wealthy, us, for instance, to see Harry Belafonte, probably at the Greek. Good start for a teen girl, me for all sorts of reasons, proto lust of sorts, love of music, song, now life long.


Thank you, Harry.