No one would ever accuse me of being a US history encyclopedia. I much preferred learning about ancient history. In some ways it seemed most understandable to me which says a lot about me.
I do know the basics about the US and the common denominator seems to be a desire to live free: free to defend oneself, free to not be searched by the Crown whenever they felt like it, free to not be taxed up (or down or out) the yazoo, and free to practice the religion of one's choice and free to be who you are. I'm sure there are more things, like at least 10 (the Bill of Rights). Anyway, we are a country of many "who's," the vast majority of us have ancestors from somewhere else. Some of us have ancestors who were here before the Vikings and the Puritans and all the rest, but I hear those ancestors came from Asia.
I think we don't have a national language and we don't have a national religion because we are such a mixed group. I also think that we used to be a majority Christian country, or else banks would be open on Christmas Day. When banks in the US close on Yom Kippur I may have something else to say. I heard the President had a Hanukkah celebration this year, and acknowledged a Jewish martyr (my word, and my Catholic upbringing.) Is there a Ramadan feast scheduled in the Rose Garden next year? I'm not trying to be too sarcastic I'm just wondering.
In grammar school I had a forward thinking, gay teacher who celebrated everything and anything. We did Japanese school children's day (I'm sure it has a real name), we did a coal mining dance. We sang for Cinco de Mayo but didn't do anything for an actual Mexican national holiday like September 16. Of course, we did something for Thanksgiving though I can't remember what. I wonder if he's still teaching and do his students celebrate Stonewall.
I can appreciate the differences, the gay teacher with his eccentricities (heck, it might just be that he was in the big city from the Midwest and he went wild,) the Jewish classmate who needed a copy of notes during the high holy days, or the co-worker who wanted a quiet place to pray to Allah. I can appreciate the differences so long as no one is telling me how to dress, how to speak and how to think. I can't appreciate someone saying that they were left out. I guess I'm just not into the specialness of one because when everyone is special no one is.
Happy Holidays!
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