Grateful to Be an American

I'm not sure how much sense it makes to be proud of something I have no control over. In my mind, pride is reserved for accomplishments, and being born in America wasn't an accomplishment. At least, it wasn't an accomplishment of mine. I can be proud of the people who made America as good as it is now and of the people who continue to strive to make it better. I can be proud of America for the good it does in the world. And those who got themselves to America and earned their citizenship can certainly be proud to be Americans, but I don't think I can be. I had no hand in shaping America or in becoming an American, so I don't think it makes much sense for me to be proud to be an American.

I can, however, be grateful to be an American, and I certainly am. There are many other countries I could have been born in, and few (if any) of them are as richly blessed as America is. I'm lucky to be an American, and I wish more people could be so lucky. I wish life was as good in the rest of the world as it is in America.

I can't be proud to be an American because I didn't do anything to deserve that, but I am grateful that I was lucky enough to be born an American.