Despite flaws, best it’s ever been

The “new America” the letter writer from Darrington recently referred to is a better place than what we were born into. (“A list of some freedoms taken”). The majority of Americans are proud of what we have done to make our nation greater in our lifetimes. I think back to my childhood to racism, sexism, and my schoolmates beating up gays for fun. I remember Lake Erie being horribly polluted and bald eagles evident only in zoos. Appalachia was full of children with distended stomachs. So many citizens are freer than they ever were.

Losing some of the freedoms he has lost may make no sense. But who has the right to make themselves a ward of the state for not wearing a seatbelt or helmet? Who has the right to endanger their children recklessly or to give another permanent back injuries by rear-ending them while texting? Who has the right to force their religious views on others? Some freedoms are complicated but they are always integrated with responsibility to a better society.

And the America I live in is the best it has ever been even with its many flaws. I suggest that those that feel otherwise channel their patriotism toward a more constructive approach.

Rick Walker

Snohomish