There are many wonderful countries in the world — one only has to watch the World Cup to see the pride and passion people have for their homeland and culture. I can think of many reasons why I love my country. As our 250th anniversary arrives, some specific moments came to me.
August 1975, JFK Airport: After spending six months in Europe, I landed at JFK airport. As I came down the stairs, three baggage handlers were having a heated discussion on the tarmac. They were from three different ethnic groups, and I wondered what they were so passionate about. As I got closer, I discovered they were arguing about the Mets. At that moment, I said to myself, “I’m home.” (Note: while I loved being back, I had gotten used to German beer, Swiss chocolate, and French cheese; having to settle for Schlitz, Hershey’s and Kraft “American” was a challenge.)
July 4, 1991, Yakima, Washington: During our seven years living in rural Washington, we were blessed to have our lives intertwined with three generations of Filipino families. On this 4th of July, we were guests at their family barbecue. Several family members took turns standing and saying what it meant to be able to immigrate to America – what challenges they faced, and how grateful they were to become American citizens.
May 1999, Ellis Island, New York City: We were back East for the college graduation of our eldest daughter. I took our two youngest girls to sightsee in New York City. We took the ferry to Ellis Island. I remembered my grandmother, who died before I was born, and was 21 years old when she arrived from Sweden in 1912. In the room where new arrivals were processed, there was a bench with a sign noting it had been in use at that time. We sat on that bench looking out at the Statue of Liberty. My grandmother did not have an easy life. But I thought what a rich life she had made possible for her descendants.
November 4, 2008, Santa Barbara: I was driving home after work listening to NPR. It was announced that Barack Obama was going to win the Presidential election. I had grown up in an era when racism and bigotry were pervasive in my neighborhood, town and country. To think that a Black man was going to serve as president seemed like a miracle.
December 17, 2013, Goleta City Council Chambers: After 9/11, I became involved with the Jewish and Muslim congregations in my community. We got to know each other as friends and neighbors. The Muslim congregation had been working for many years to build a small mosque. A vote for final approval was scheduled on this date. There was tension prior to the meeting as we wondered what people opposed to the project might say. But everyone who spoke supported it. A common theme was an affirmation that the freedom to practice religion is a fundamental principle of the American vision. The Council approved the permit unanimously and we rejoiced.
September 2024, Dutch Resistance Museum, Amsterdam: My sister and I had spent two weeks in Europe focusing on the cities of Berlin, Vienna, and Amsterdam. Along the way we visited many sites associated with the Nazi period. In Amsterdam we visited the Dutch Resistance Museum. We were moved by stories and exhibits highlighting the courage and resourcefulness of the Dutch during the Nazi occupation. The last room focused on the experience of liberation, with tributes to the role the American armed forces had played. Our father and his 30th Infantry Division had been part of that effort. I felt great pride in remembering the role America played in the liberation of Europe.
At our best we are a land of opportunity representing the noblest aspirations of the human family. We have refined that vision over two and a half centuries to affirm that all people are created equal, and they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In these trying times I am grateful for those moments when I was reminded of the power and beauty of that vision, and resolve to remember, defend, and advance it.
Steve Jacobsen, Ed.D 