All right. I'll say it. After all, they do say that true patriotism only begins after you leave your country. Its true though, and recently I've been getting tired of seeing other exchange students waving around their Canadian flags and knowing that I could never do that with my own. I've gotten tired of hearing my English teacher bashing Americans as fat, stupid, work-a-holics that don't care about their families. I've gotten tired of living in a country where everyone cares more about the politics in my country than in their own. So I'll say it, finally, I'm ready.

Its time to stop bashing America. Being overseas has taught me this much: I am proud to be an American.

Before I left my country I most certainly did not feel this way. In fact, I felt almost the opposite. I criticized America for almost everything. I saw only the bad things that I thought were specific just to my country. I thought the majority of American's really were fat and stupid. I thought that our consumeristic society was awful. I thought that our government and lifestyle was imposing on the goodness of the rest of the world.

Well let me tell you, after four months of life in Europe, my opinions have changed. I see that the problems that I used to think were just American are really the problems of the world. I've met many overweight people here in Europe. Stupidity runs just as rampant here as it does in the US, and the society here is excessively consumeristic. Truthfully, from what I've seen, the rest of the world isn't nearly as saintly as I thought. In fact, its got just as many, if not more problems than the US has.

So I'd just like to say that its time for the rest of the world to start focusing on its own problems, rather than the problems in the US. The people of France need to worry about the fact that half their population is probably going to die of lung cancer, and the fact that their government, not mine, was buying crude oil from Iraq; rather than focusing on every little move the government of my country makes. Its so hypocritical. I've seen French people sitting in McDonald's, eating cheeseburgers and talking about how terrible the US is.

I'm not trying to start a hate sessions against France, or any other country for that matter. All I'm saying is lay off my country. Every country in the world has problems, and just because the US is the most powerful nation out there doesn't mean that it should be the one to get ditched on the most.

And listen. I'm proud to be an American. Why? Because I grew up in a country that has some of the most amazing things in it. The US was started by men and women who fought tyranny away in the pursuit of freedom. My American ancestors were hard workers who knew how to live in the wild. I don't have a history of politics for thousands of years, but I do have a history of elbow grease. My country has the most amazing natural wonders and resources in the world. My country has space, god if I could only see open space again. If only I could stand at the edge of a forest and know I could get lost in it for days at least. Thats my country. I'm proud to come from one of the friendliest most giving countries in the world. We didn't start World War Two, but we did help end it, and after we were done with that, you know what we did? We gave some more, we helped to pull Europe out of famine and depression. Thats my country. My country is built out of diversity, which enriches its culture. America has overcome so much. First the hardships of our wild countryside, then oppression of women, and then the oppression of blacks and other races. We put a man on the moon. America was the first country in a long time to put freedom before all else. Americans believe in change, its what we're founded on. We believe that one man can make a difference. Our ideals of hard work and happiness have changed the world. Yes, I am proud to come from that culture. I am proud to be an American.

So the next time I see an American flag I'm buying it and waving it proudly, just like the Canadians, at our next rotary meeting. Why? Because of the revolutionaries, thats mine. The pony express, thats mine. The Oregon Trail, thats mine. The Yankees, thats mine. Rosa Parks, thats mine. Elvis, thats mine. Neil Armstrong, thats mine. The Peace Core and the right to disagree, thats mine. A smile and a good work ethic, thats mine, and that's American too. I can see now that it is wrong to turn my back on these things. I come from a great country, a free country, and there's no reason to squirm away or hide from that anymore. So no more bashing America for me. Hand me the stars and strips and I'll bear it with pride. Proud, finally, to be American.