Spanish views from a small town

July 4th was the celebration of Independence Day in the United States. It was a day to celebrate the founding of a nation based on certain basic freedoms. People usually have barbecues, watch fireworks, go to parades, and shoot at other people. It is so ironic that one of the amendments on the Constitution that helped to create that country, made sure that mass death could happen on the anniversary of its founding. Fireworks, parades, and guns. So American.  America as a free country is dead. I'm sorry if I anger some people, but that is my opinion, and that of many. Growing up, I had heard comments about how long strong countries, empires really, could last. Two hundred years, more or less, was the answer, at least as a world power. In name, they can last longer, but be a mere paper tiger. The United States was founded in 1776, almost two hundred fifty years ago. It is now headed to its death. Economically, militarily, it is still strong. But, morally, it is deader than a doornail...

I read an article online yesterday morning that brought back memories of conclusions I had come to some years ago. The  article is from The Guardian, and was written by an American woman at least ten years younger than me. She grew up in a bubble of an environment; a middle class white town with conservative values and no interest in the outside world, nor much historical and cultural curiosity. I grew up in a slightly more diverse neighborhood, developed liberalized values, was very interested in everything that happened in the world and the country around me, and devoured history books as if they were Harlequin novels and I a lovesick little girl. In the first years I lived here, everything compared disfavorably with America. I grew up believing America was the best country in the world, and the one with the most freedom. I believed, much like the woman in the article did, that the United States was the epitome of a civilized nation. In fact, I believed that the truth was wors...

Today is Independence Day. It is the day my adopted country declared its independence from Britain's tyranny. The prime reason for it was economic, as always. Thanks to the money spent on the French and Indian War, Parliament imposed taxes upon the colonies without the colonies having any say in the matter. Things escalated, especially in troublesome Boston, and the end was the birth of a nation.  When I was a little girl, we celebrated the Bicentennial, in 1976. I don't remember much, except a patriotic coloring book I got that year, with scenes of American history to color. I suppose the simple lines describing the pictures prompted me to find out more, because by the time I studied U.S. history in fifth grade, I already knew most of what was in the textbook. Back then I was proud of my country, and thought it would last forever as a symbol of freedom.  Now, I think its heyday has gone. Every night we listen to the news and hear and see things that make me cringe. Whenev...