What a Country!
Dan Kunz
If you enjoy old TV sitcoms, you might have seen one from the late 1980’s called, “What a Country!” The show is about a group of recent immigrants who are studying to pass the citizenship test. They include, among others, a Hungarian doctor, the son of a deposed African king, a Hispanic housekeeper, and the star of the show, a Russian-Soviet taxi driver named Nickolai, who was played by Yakov Smirnoff, a Ukrainian-American comedian. It was his oft-repeated exclamation, “What a country”, that became the title of the series. Quite frequently, Nicolai would encounter something completely out of his realm of experience and exclaim, “What a county!”
If you’ve spent any time watching the World Cup or seen the reporting on it, one fact arises again and again. When people from across the world visit our country to support their national team, they are absolutely blown away by the United States of America! Whether it’s the restaurants, the convenience stores, the transportation, or the venues, they are constantly amazed. “Free refills” on soft drinks? Interstate travel without border crossings? Complete strangers willing to give directions? So many freedoms! Such friendly people! Smiling faces! What a country!
Do you share their excitement? Probably not. Just as is the case with so many things, when you encounter something all the time, it just doesn’t seem all that great. Although I’m not a soccer fan (I’ve even been known to make fun of soccer), if the World Cup hasn’t done anything else for America, it’s reminded us we truly do live in the greatest country in the history of the world. By virtually any measurement, we have been blessed beyond compare. Perfect? Far from it, but we usually acknowledge our shortcomings and work to correct them. Could we do better? Except when politicians are tripping over each other to play “the blame game”, they generally try to improve life in the United States.
On this, our 250th anniversary, Christians in particular should thank God for the blessings of our country. A close read of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution reveal founders who, for the most part, were God-fearing men who believed America could be a template for the rest of the world. It’s easy to look back at our relatively brief history and see how God has blessed us. So many events and experiences in the past had to happen in just the right way to enable America’s successes. Even if you’re not a student of history, the brief snippets seen on a variety of media for the past year have underscored again and again how our country has been blessed. George Washington crossing the Delaware with 2400 men in the middle of the night is just one little example of those extraordinary events. If even one thing goes wrong, we might still be British citizens.
It’s almost impossible to believe, but one recent poll revealed about one-third of Americans are not proud of their country! Political differences aside, how is that possible? We have so many things of which to be proud, this year should be the best celebration ever! So, in addition to the fireworks, picnics, parades, and everything else we do to celebrate, we should, first and foremost, thank God for this land from sea to shining sea and every single smile God has cast our way. Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! We should join Nicolai and exclaim, “What a country,” but add, “What a God!”