America

Here is something that has been bothering me lately:

I'm tired of people blaming the war in Iraq on Bush. Damnit, are there any Americans who actually realize that for a country to go to war it has to have approval from Congress? Yup, that's the same Congressmen and women that you elected into office. Oops, you didn't vote? Damn well I'm sorry that the Republicans got voted in AGAIN. Maybe next time you'll do your part and actually vote, because it's your constitutional right and more importantly your duty as a citizen of this country.
Speaking of this country, why does everyone that lives in it, and even those who don't (Canadians), feel the need to talk crap about it. You ignorant bastards. This country may have budgetary problems, it might have unemployment, crime, and homeless people living everywhere. But you show me a country that doesn't have that. What is so bad about living in this country, honestly? You can say what you want, when you want. You have the opportunity to be whatever you want, to get an education at whatever level because you can be given a scholarship JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE A GOOD STUDENT. You can excel and become wealthy, or you can be a starving artist and be happy with it. This country has allowed you freedoms that some places don't have. If you have no money or you have no home, there hundreds of non-profit and charitable organizations that can help you. If there is something you don't like about this country, or you want to change, you have the right and the duty to speak up, vote for what you believe in, petition your representative and even run for office yourself until you are heard. If you don't vote, if you don't actively give to your community, if you don't take the time to stand up for what you believe in, then do not complain about how horrible our country is.
Moreover, stop saying that this country is nothing but a war hungry, baby killing mafia. When terrorists attacked on 9/11, what was the country saying? Kill the terrorists, attack the Afghanistan...now what are you saying? Stop the killing. You know what? It's too late. We went in to Iraq because their own leader was killing them. They lost civilians in the war and so did we. We also lost a lot of good soldiers fighting for a cause that the people of the country don't support. How do you think that makes a young soldier feel? He's got to go into a war, into a battle zone where his life is in constant danger and fight against an enemy that his family and friends back home don't believe is a real threat. Courage overcomes fear, but how can he have courage if his country is not standing in his corner. I hope that all the soldiers and civilians who died in Iraq and Afghanistan did not die for nothing. There is a cause there, there is a reason, and that reason is now to help rebuild those countries.
I vote, I am in the Army, and I knew coming in that one day I might have to put my life on the line. I can honestly say that I would go to combat any day to defend this country and the rights of all citizens in this nation, and I would go to combat to defend the rights of any human that is being terrorized or persecuted in their country because everyone has a right to live in freedom and in peace. No one deserves to be terrorized, not US citizens on 9/11, not even Iraqis under Saddam Hussein.
So vote, stand up for what you want, and make a difference before you complain about the country that gives you the right to do so.