...my country, sometimes referred to as The Great Whore, The Great Satan, or more simply, a bunch of corrupt, war-mongering oil barons.
Please don't censor this as being political. It is truly a gratitude list of my blessings.
1) I like the benefits of affluence. To me, affluence means access to education and high standards of health care. Not every citizen of my country enjoys this, but many do. I am free to work for greater inclusion of disadvantaged people into this affluence, and ordinary taxpayers pay me to do this work.
2) I like living in a very lively arts community. The music of my country rocks the world. So does our cinema. We are a dream machine of creative ideas. Our theatre continues to speak of social justice and our literature talks about the truths of the human condition.
3) I like being a woman of this country. I am respected and empowered, and I can determine my own fate. This is true in many developed countries. I am proud of the contribution that women in my country are making towards helping women in Afghanistan. Women in France are also doing this.
4) I am free to say I like the French because they gave us the Statue of Liberty and tell us exactly what they think, even if it makes us quit importing their wines. No problem, mes amis. We have California vintnors and boatloads of kick-ass Aussie import wines that can compete with your over-priced, state-controlled agricultural products in a heartbeat.
5) I like being free enough to be a competitive asshole and an unashamed country bumpkin. I like the fact that I can conserve five acres of watershed woodland and almost no one can tell me what to do, including fly an earth flag on the homeplace while everyone else flies the stars & bars or old dixie.
6) I am grateful to be tied to this land through the blood and bones of my ancestors. I also like the tradition of opening the arms of opportunity to immigrants who come from all over the world to make a life here. I like the fact that hard work and character--rather than some accident of birth--makes a difference.
Many of these things can be said about other countries in the developed & developing world. I'm not convinced that my country is exceptional, which is why I don't think we're the Great Whore or a Great Satan. Warmongering oil barons? Maybe--but only for the time being. Thirty years from now, there will be a new world. My prediction factors in the possibility of the Second Coming as well as global extinction of the human species. It is part of my culture to be optimistic about the future, even if that means the end of life on the planet as we currently know it.