ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Voting Rights, fair taxation and consumer choices make America a beacon of Freedom

Updated on December 4, 2013

Why I was drawn to USA

I come from a very small country in Africa. The country is called Uganda. It is also called the 'Pearl of Africa.' Its other name market standard is 'gifted by nature.' It is no lie. A small country whose size is almost the size of some Nigerian provinces! It has 52 ethnicities and hence 52 local languages. It enjoys both tropical and equatorial climates. Its population is not more than 40 million people ( 2013 estimates).

I went to school and grew up like many other boys/males. I know how to tend gardens, look after domestic animals, hunt and tell various animal, bird and plan species. I can survive in the wild much as I can survive in cities. I am educated up to post graduate level in medicine.

I came to America with much the same 'high' or intoxication as I had from the time I heard my great grandfather, grand father and father talk with awe about USA. My father and grand father studied in UK. They never talked in awe about it as they did with USA. At school all boys and girls affected accents they called 'American.' All the films I watched were categorized but those from Holly wood were celebrated. Every one seemed to say America was the land where milk just pours out of anything. The people are so rich that money just drops out of their overfilled pockets. If one made it to America ( USA), then all troubles are bid good bye. The streets were painted with gold and cheese was every where.

No wonder that all common sense was blocked out when I set foot on American soil at the Dulles Airport, Washington DC.

Almost 3 years down the road,I want to call all those people who influenced my image of USA. I want to tell them that in America...........all the gold and cheese is the people of America! It is not the buildings nor is it the streets. And no, there is no gold on the streets! Americans struggle very hard to make their country beautiful. Oh! And beautiful America is indeed!

This paper seeks to answer my own questions of what makes America tick and what are the no so apparent things that make America unique, rich and powerful?

I want to copy these and feed them as intelligence to Africans. Africa should be the "EU-G8-Dragon-BRIC-Tiger all in one" Why not!

Diversity and Beauty of America

Click thumbnail to view full-size
US Army pursues conscription without discriminationChina Town, Washington DCMonuments and heritage of USA.Many people visit Washington DC because of monuments like this one
US Army pursues conscription without discrimination
US Army pursues conscription without discrimination | Source
China Town, Washington DC
China Town, Washington DC | Source
Monuments and heritage of USA.
Monuments and heritage of USA. | Source
Many people visit Washington DC because of monuments like this one
Many people visit Washington DC because of monuments like this one | Source

Tolerance and co-existence in USA; its origins

I hear so much along these lines: " America is a land of opportunity," "America is a land of immigrants." Am sure you can share what you hear about USA. Or what drew you to USA. You may be born, bred and a citizen. Or you may be like me, a new American.

Why many are drawn to America?

USA, the country, also known as America, is made by people like you and me. It is also made up of the airspace, territorial waters around it, the environment, the trees, land, birds, animals, investments and minerals. The people are America's most important resource. People have qualities. The good qualities and diversity are what make it a renowned country. There is an inner homing tendency in all of us. This is best captured in the axiom: east or west home is best. That is at an individual level. Then there is that aspect that makes us go out of the familiar and the comfortable. Then we go out to search meaning of things. Some are obsessed with working with other human beings, whatever the color, strand, faith or mix. There are those to whom home is travelling, exploration, engaging in social improvement activities, discovery, science, work and hobbies. These kind of persons have found their grail. The eye, ear and our senses being what they are , continue to be stimulated by what is around us. This is the 'gravitas.' drawing us out from ourselves. America, the idea, is a goal, aspiration and end result of so many activities and plans. The dream, the prize, the gift and the beginning and the end.

What makes America a unique country?

There are some ten reasons I can think of:

1. It is a country made up of smaller states all forming a union with one president and two tiers; the senate and congress. The Federal government oversees the security, immigration and welfare of citizens and people in the jurisdiction. The State government oversees the unique state level needs, concerns and issues. The Federal government can help the state government in matters of crisis or those that need a bigger budget. This means that human concerns and issues are addressed by both Federal and state government. There are offices that people go to when they have issues to address. These are nearer to the people and not so far away. The people are provided services within offices that are aware of or familiar with one's needs. The officers are familiar with the concerns of the people. The states are able to address the needs that are locally generated.

2. The four pillars: dignity, liberty, happiness and ensuring life for all people is not only mere lip services. USA is one big altar on which the people are the priests and congregation all in one. The prayer service is broken down into executing and demanding dignity, liberty, happiness and upholding life.

3. The diversity of people is from all over the world. The people are able to assimilate, negotiate life and navigate systems through dialogue, insistence and face to face meetings. All people from different parts of the world are able to receive care and regard. This can be through direct face to face meetings or through social cultural groups, NGOs and CSO's. These groups, NGOs and CSOs are registered and formally accepted to execute social services on behalf of the cities or jurisdiction. One can still find a welcome face and an extended hand ready to be shaken. Through this system one is guided through the documentation maze, food, shelter and livelihood support.

4. The quality living standards are superb. This is from the planned cities, urban and suburban areas. The orderly waste disposal, the deterrents to littering, planned zoning, the marked road ways and mindfulness for the environment. This creates a culture of cleanliness. The community roles and responsibilities are passed on even to the children. From this springs pride and patriotism. There is always a sensation to return cleanliness with more cleanliness. It is a sensible thing to do. Neatness is returned with more neatness. This attachment is what makes up the bigger part of fondness and ownership. Hence, the oft made statements: 'this is my country,' or 'this is my city.'

5. The industrialization and built areas are self sustained and life empowering zones. One is able to work, walk and wake all in a reachable area. The mobility, security and integrity are assured. This confidence is galvanizing.

6. The people are warm and hard working. The people are bent on making their country, state, town and neighborhood peaceful. Peace is upheld and this is the basis of community activities and innovation that is so pervasive in form of holidays, community clean up campaigns, carnivals and parades.

7. Diet, duty and deputy power are three elements of the culture in USA. There are measures to make food (balanced and nutritious meals) accessible. Knowledge and information are provided to improve on informed decisions and the general decision support mechanism. The communities are policed. Law and order is immediately felt. It is not remote. It is apparent in signs and sounds and not a far away thing.

8. Constitutionalism, connectivity and communities are elements that Americans utilize to improve on peacefulness and co-existence. Depending on incomes, job specialty and area, communities have worked together to safeguard a common aspiration, landmark or way of good things. Peace, orderliness and human concerns are on the major part the same. In USA a community or affected group can rally up support to have issues or concerns addressed.

9. Higher aspirations such as environment conservation, animal rights or denunciation of indignity galvanize Americans.

10. The education system that equips its beneficiaries with a multitude of skills has helped America keep at the front line of nations.

Because of the above ten points, because the many Americans are products of their communities and because Americans are brought up in systems that promote dignity and respect, there is little wonder then it is in this nation that one finds constant and persistent polishing and dusting off of life.

Decorum and Constitutionalism in USA

I. Once upon a time some Americans were able to express themselves politically and were not afraid to say they had a soft spot for Communist Russia. These were marked as communists. They were friendly to the totalitarian Soviet Union. These were seen as a threat to the US Security. A move for "sincere break with communism" ( Heins, 2013, page 5) was hatched under the auspices of McCarthy. People were put before panels to name names. The tension between individual freedoms and national security that was argued to be safeguarded led to many falling prey to witch hunting. However, a bigger number of people rose up against this. They took their case before the Supreme Court and later won. It was a victory for individual security and the national security. There was delineation of roles and responsibilities (Marjorie Heins, 2013: Priest of our democracy; the supreme court, academic freedom, and the anti-communist purge).

II. Many African Americans were denied voting. The voting Right Act (1965) stopped this and advanced the promise of America life. This made them executors of the American dream. It was a pivot in American history. It did not come easy however. Martin Luther King had to employ various tactics. One of them included ending his voluntary seclusion on Thursday March 11, when he appeared in Judge Johnson's Montgomery courtroom for injunction hearing. This hearing it was hoped, would pave the way for a march to Montgomery. This march was a civil right peace parade and was a major landmark in entrenching the dignity and respect of an African American in USA. In The fifth Amendment of 1870, had granted African Americans the right to vote. But there were hurdles put in the way of the African Americans. This new era was to take another 100 years to be apparent for African Americans. White segregationists had counter attacked by use of sheer terror, used insidious devices such as complex literacy tests, expensive poll taxes, law enforcement brutality and hate (Gary May, 2013: Bending Towards Justice; the voting rights Act and the transformation of American democracy).

III. The US Constitution has been used to define what has been good for some and not good for others. It has been a journey of learning for many. The constitution is a mediation tool a provider of guidance on making a level playing field for all in USA to refer to. "The constitution sets guidelines for what types of law are permitted, how they are to be enacted and enforced" (Raphael, 2013, page 153). There are myths that need to be demystified when it came to understanding the constitution (Ray Raphael, 2013: Constitutional myths; what we get wrong and how to get it right.

Thurgood Marshall

Click thumbnail to view full-size
US Supreme Court Luminaries
US Supreme Court Luminaries
US Supreme Court Luminaries | Source

Basic Needs For All Humans

What is the most important need or concern for a human being?

See results

The White house

US Monuments
US Monuments | Source

Summary

All people in America are beneficiaries of the tenets of what the founders of the nation aspired to:

1. Liberty

2. Life

3. Pursuit of happiness

The 3 pillars

1. Execution and evidence of fairness

2. Liberty

3. Happiness

People and their needs

Immediate High Impact
Secondary Level
Long Term
Significance
Key person
Food
play
Interaction
Grade concerns and needs
Leaders, CSOs and NGOs
Shelter
Toys
Business
same
same
Security
Appliances
Incomes
same
same
Health
parties
Documentation
same
same
Education
Visiting
Relations
same
same
Interaction
Language training
Travel
same
same
Clothing
Immunization
Social assimilation
same
same
Transport
Group meetings
health check ups
same
same
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)