IN MY SHOES: In My Shoes: Proud – And Grateful – To Be An American


Every July 4th, The Stiletto says a special prayer of thanks that her mother and father chose to make their lives in this country.

 

The Stiletto’s parents are well-educated, and speak nearly a dozen languages between them – half fluently, half conversationally – so they could easily have applied for citizenship in any number of Western European or South American countries, Canada or even one of the far-flung nations comprising the British Commonwealth. But they were determined to become Americans, because this country offered a degree of personal and economic freedom unattainable even in other democracies. They wanted to give the children they hoped to have a birthright that ensured freedom from religious or ethnic persecution (no small concern in their case), as well as freedom from the despair of having their talents, drive and ambitions repeatedly stymied by a socioeconomic or gender-based caste system that keeps people “in their place.” 

 

The Stiletto got all that – and more. Having been imbued with the go-getting confidence of this always-striving nation, which shrugs off failure as a bump in the road while lavishly rewarding success, The Stiletto has an unshakable faith that the best is yet to come for her country, and for her. Next to life itself, this is the greatest gift The Stiletto’s parents could have bestowed. 

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Posted by The Stiletto at July 4, 2006
Categories: In My Shoes
 

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